USFK Drinking Age to Stay at 21

For those who thought that the change in the Marine Corps drinking age from 21 to 20 for Marines stationed on Okinawa would be a prelude to change for soldiers stationed in Korea as well, will be sadly disappointed:

U.S. Forces Korea officials said Thursday that the drinking age for its personnel is 21 ¿ and it¿s going to stay that way.

¿USFK is not considering a revision of the current policy,¿ spokesman Dave Oten replied via e-mail when asked whether the command planned to mirror a new U.S. Marine Corps policy announced Thursday for Okinawa and Japan.

Lt. Gen. Joseph F. Weber, commander of Marine Corps Bases Japan, lowered the drinking age for his troops from 21 to 20 effective this coming Monday. Marine officials said the change ensures the Corps¿ policy is consistent with Japanese law and that the Marines will be treated like other U.S. servicemembers and the Japanese public.

Here is the common complaint from US soldiers about the drinking age policy:

Pfc. Cristin Baughman, 21, was 19 when she first arrived in South Korea.

¿It¿s all about personal responsibility,¿ said Baughman, of Area I headquarters company. ¿There are plenty of people over 21 who can¿t handle their alcohol, just like people under 21 ¿ is a year really going to make that much of a difference?¿

Yes, it does make a difference.  Despite all the hoopla over taxi cab related incidents, USFK servicemembers statistically have been much better behaved overall since the drinking policy was raised to 21 years of age.  It is the same reason why E6’s and below will not be given back their driving privileges as well, because by percentage DUI’s dropped dramatically in USFK.  It is a fact of life that certain demographics cause more incidents than others.  This is not your daddy’s 1980 Korea anymore; today in Korea these incidents have strategic consequences for the alliance overall due to the increased media attention and public demagoging of these incidents by opportunistic South Korean NGO’s and politicians.

So to answer the young soldier’s question, yes that one year does matter.