Before the mid-80s, regardless of the legal drinking age off-base …show more content…
As of February 2015, Maryland Senator Ron Young has proposed a bill to allow members of the armed forces to start drinking at eighteen. "If someone can risk their life, why shouldn't they be able to have a glass of beer or wine with dinner?" Young said while testifying before the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee (Rogers1). Also, Hugh Warner, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3285 in Frederick, said he didn't help initiate the legislation but agrees with it in concept. "If the young man's able to dodge bullets, he ought to be able to vote and take a beer now and then," Warner said (Rogers2). Even today there are Senators and Congressmen that are willing to support lowering the drinking age of the United States armed forces to eighteen.
The legal drinking age for the United States military should be lowered to eighteen. The world already recognizes eighteen year olds to be an adult to make their own decisions whether right or wrong. However, let them decide on their own actions and not be judged as a second class citizen that can vote, die for their country, and be on a jury with their peers. Additionally, by lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen, the United States would be more like other countries from around the