Alcohol Deglamorization and Norms of Alcohol Use at Air Command and Staff College

Substance abuse in the military has become an issue of steadily increasing interest and concern to military leaders. This paper endeavors to identify the degree to which the Air Force Alcohol Deglamorization Program is supported by the alcohol-use norms at Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), an Air Force Intermediate Service School located at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. The ACSC setting is also compared (via survey results) to the previous duty assignment of the survey respondents. This paper outlines from the literature some of the problems associated with alcohol use in the military (degraded job performance, alcohol related crimes, incidents of poor judgement). Some of the "benefits" attributed in the literature to alcohol use are also noted (increased military morale, cohesion, and camaraderie). Literature suggesting that military members should adhere to a moral standard that is higher than the typical American citizen is noted. This paper identifies key aspects of the Air Force Alcohol Deglamorization Program and describes how a survey was developed to assess adherence to Program guidelines. Results of the survey are discussed. Results suggest that those surveyed perceived the ACSC setting to be generally supportive of the Alcohol Deglamorization Program, with several notable exceptions.