Soldiers hittin’ the sauce in Afghanistan and Iraq

JOHN MOORE/Getty Images News

A recent report out of Germany indicates that alcohol abuse by elite German soldiers in Afghanistan is rampant. Members of Germany’s Kommando Spezialkräfte openly flout alcohol restrictions, drinking heavily and trading booze with U.S. troops for snippets of intelligence and helicopter rides, according to Der Spiegel. One U.S. soldier says beer is a “currency … To us, the German beer supplies were Big Rock Candy.”

And drinking is not limited to rank and file soldiers. The behavior of a drunken German colonel during mission briefings in Kandahar, for instance, prompted complaints from U.S. military officials.

The Germans aren’t the only ones with substance-abuse problems. A report in the New York Times earlier this year found that “alcohol- and drug-related charges were involved in more than a third of all Army criminal prosecutions of soldiers” in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s easy to dismiss the drinking as “boys will be boys” behavior. And you can’t blame soldiers for having a drink or two, considering what they go through each day.

But if history is any guide, the heavy drinking could indicate low morale. During Vietnam, substance abuse was widespread and tied to frustration with progress and battlefield stress. This was also the case for the Soviet Union during its occupation of Afghanistan. Facing extended deployments, up to 50 percent of Red Army troops turned to drugs.

Last month, I attended a discussion on the state of the Iraq war. One panelist said the troops still believed in the fight because, unlike Vietnam, they had not yet turned to drugs or alcohol. Unfortunately, these reports suggest otherwise.