Expert: Rod Powers - 5/3/2007

Question
QUESTION: A friend of mine joined the Army about a year ago and he tells me that there's alot of drinking that goes on while off duty[amongst other things}.If a soldier becomes an alcoholic,how would the Army handle it considering they cant just fire someone?I geuss my question is when does an addiction go to far for the Army to take care of?
ANSWER: Hi Jack,

It's not just the Army, it's the same for all of the branches. However, I should mention that "a lot of drinking" among members of a job that mandates that one puts their life on the line, doesn't not necessarily indicate that the member has a drinking problem, or is an "alcoholic."

First of all, those of legal drinking age, can drink, when off-duty (except in places where consumpiton of alcohol is not legal, such as most combat zones).

One cannot drink while on duty (that's a violation of the UCMJ, and one can be punished under Article 15, or be subject to Court-Martial).

In the military, the person in charge, is the commanding officer. He/she makes decisions which he/she considers best for the unit. In civilian life, you have a district attorney (DA) who determines how to handle a particular case.

Now, first off, a commanding officer can punish any military member under their command for an alcohol-related crime (such as drunk on duty, driving under the influence, etc.). Depenending on the circumstances, such crimes can be punished under the provisons of Article 15 (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/article15.htm), or administrative actions (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/a/counseling.htm), or even a court-martial (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/l/aacmartial1.htm).

Now, it's important to realize that the above is separate from abuse of alcohol. These are tools that a commander can use to address crimes committed, whether alcohol-related, or not.

Now, when it comes to alcohol-related incidences, the commander's hands are tied. By regulation, if there is any incident, at all, regarding one of their troops (whether a fight down-town, or being suspected for drunk on duty....regardless), the commander *must* refer the individual for an alcohol/drug evaluation. This also applies if a military member is late for work, hung over on the job, or for any other reason anyone in authority feels the problem is alcohol-related. It's important to realize, in such cases, that referral is not optional, it's mandatory.

When referred, the member is extensively interviewed and examined by a professional drug & alcohol counselor, and a military psychiatrist. Often, friends, co-workers and family members are interviewed, as part of the process. The member undergoes a full medical evaluation, which inclues such things as a "liver function test," and other medial tests which will show if the member is addicted to alcohol.

Once all of this is done, a meeting is held, with the member, the commander (who chairs the meeting and makes the ultimate decision), the first sergeant, the member's supervisor, the psychiatrist, the medical doctor who supervised the tests, and the alcohol/drug abuse counselor.

All of these recommend whether or not the member should receive treatment for alcohol abuse, and the commander makes the ultimate decision.

Treatment decisions can range anywhere from no treatment necessary, to an 8 week out-patient treatment/education to program, to full-blown in-residence treatment at a military alcohol rehabilitation center, for 12 weeks. The military member has no choice in the matter -- the ultimate decision is made by the commanding officer. If the Military member refuses to participate in the program, he/she is discharged.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Rod,          You said that the commander has no choice but to refer an alcoholic for mandatory evaluation. So,if the soldier refused to participate it would be an automatic dishonorable discharge?!! Is that what you're saying?  

Answer
Hi Jack,

It's clear that you don't understand discharge characterizations.

A "dishonorable discharge" can only be imposed as punishment from a General Court-Martial (the most serious type of court-martials) for committing a criminal offense.

Nobody is going to be court-martialed (especially, the most serious kind of court-martials, which is limited to rapists, murderers, deserters, and such), for refusing to participate in a drug or alcohol treatment program. Again (just to clarify), a *dishonorable discharge* can only be imposed (as punishment) by a General Courts Martial.

Now, legally, a member *could* be court-martialed, for violation of Article 92 of the UCMJ (see: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/mcm92.htm), for disobeying an order. However, in 30 years, I've never seen it handled this way for refusal to participate in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, or failure to meet the requirements of the program.

Much more likely, if a member refused to participate in the requirements of a mandated drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, you would be *administratively discharged* (which is different than a court-martial imposed discharge), probably with an "Under Other Than Honorable Conditions," or "UOTHC" discharge. This is not good, but is much better than a "dishonorable discharge." For details, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawlegislation/l/aadischarge1.htm.

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com