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While everything you said does happen, it is not everyone, nor is it every command.

In my 4 years we never had a single sailor show up to work drunk at my command, even once. They would be reprimanded. They might showup hungover sure, but not drunk. I did hear stories from other ships about a few high ranking officers showing up to base drunk but those were isolated incidents.

I never talked to anyone who had ever snuck alcohol on the ship and I was cool with everyone. I was on a destroyer so maybe on a larger ship this is easier to get away with.

I myself had my Liberty removed for 6 months because some kid who was not invited to our party stole 2 bottles of alcohol from us and got blackout. We found him in the beach bathroom passed out on the ground and had to physically carry him for a 45 minute walk back to base. He was in the hospital for 3 days. We lost our privilege to leave the ship for 6 months.

Let's be honest. Being in the Navy is terrible, alcohol is the way the culture copes with how terrible it is. You experience so much bullshit that the only thing that keeps you going is the idea that one day you'll get back to land and be able to get wasted. The problem is you can't drink or celebrate at sea so people go overboard once they get back on land. Yeah people get too drunk and drink too much, but so do college kids, which are the same age as many of these sailors.

I'm not sure when you would have served, but it sounds like you had a solid command.

I dealt with things ranging from exactly what the parent said (see my sibling comment to yours), to having to do a medical call away for someone non-responsive being brought across the quarterdeck at 2357 (in 2015; that individual had to get their stomach pumped and an AED administered twice on the way to the hospital in Okinawa). I dealt with any number of drunk at work issues as both a Chief and as a Security Manager (surprise, that's one that will get your clearance impacted). The number of DUI's I dealt with was far down, but the amount of alcohol driven domestic violence that came across my desk was... well that was the main reason I didn't take the civilian position I was offered (as the Security Manager at my final command).

2008 - 2012 in Yokosuka

Spent some time In Iwakuni in that time frame. Never did get to do a tour in Yoko.

Big base, very strict when I was there. There was an international incident with a Marine right off base of Yoko before I arrived so it's possible they were tighter on rules than usual.

That was a cyclical thing while I was there. Someone would do something utterly stupid and the rules would get harsh for a bit.

As an ex-Sub RO, specifically during the 2000's in Pearl Harbor:

Yeah, this sounds 100% true. I could have typed this, and at one point I was one of those bringing a bottle underway (though I was never drunk on watch; it was due to our ports having no alcohol). Honestly given how alcoholic half the crew was if there wasn't alcohol onboard (just to stop the withdrawals) the boat probably would have had to cancel the underway.

I can say that by the time I retired (2023) it was nothing like that. The ERB's in the 2011 timeframe wiped out an absolute TON of manpower but it did have the desired effect of destroying that culture almost immediately. Anyone with even a hint of alcohol issues in their record was sent packing with no recourse.

Prior to those ERB's the running joke was you had to have a DUI to be promoted to Chief. After that a DUI was not technically disqualifying, but was in reality a career ending event. Overnight things went to a culture of being afraid of doing anything that could get you caught out by a future ERB if you escaped that one.

It also caused the manpower issues we see now though, resulting in the manning shortfalls that are most critical in 7th Fleet. That fleet sees the worst shortfalls because it is the one that requires people to live overseas (Japan and Guam), which can be a hard sell. On top of that the deployment cycle has a far higher optempo; generally I spent 60-70% of a given tour on deployments. The rest of the Navy sees between 35% and 40% (outside of SOCOM commands). There's an ongoing impression that you have 7th Fleet Sailor's, then the rest of the Navy, as the Sailor's who like 7th Fleet don't want to go elsewhere and the rest of the Navy has no desire to join them.

Note: I was a 7th Fleet Sailor for most of my career; that stint in Pearl Harbor was the only Sea Duty I did outside of there.

Bob?

Nope, I'm not a Bob.

Kind of wish I was a sentient intergalactic probe some days though.

Just wrapped up reading "The British are Coming" by Rick Atkinson (great book!) about the start of the American Revolution and half the letters from the generals were in request for or talked of shipments of rum and mead and wine. Many captured soldiers were just the ones too drunk to flee when they needed to.

It was a brutal endeavor. They did not have ice cream.

> It was standard practice for Chiefs to take their divisions to bars and pay for their drinks all night so they could be drunk and immobile under Chief's supervision instead of drunk and mobile out in public.

Encouraging alcholism so they can manage it - that is really bad.