Seek psychiatric help, Camp Humphreys commander!” is the message on this sign protesting Col. Michael J. Taliento Jr. and his policies concerning access to some off-base establishments. T.D. Flack / S&S
Bar owners objected to Taliento decision, saying the agent who ordered the alcohol was of legal drinking age while the agent who paid was underage. They called it a sting operation in which they were set up to fail.
Kim said USFK personnel on Friday admitted fault in the recent undercover investigations. Kim said future checks are to be conducted by U.S. military personnel, members of the merchant association and Pyeongtaek city officials.
And while bars are required to do everything they can to prevent sales to minors, they wont be held responsible for personnel who legally buy alcohol then sneak it to underage buddies, Kim said.
That is actually a pretty weak case for putting a bar off limits by having an underage person buy a drink for a person of legal age. If that is in fact true I can understand why the bar owners are pissed off. However, this “solution” does nothing to solve the problem of underage drinkers because the people who underage drink will now just get their buddies to buy them alcohol instead. If the command really wants to end the problem put breathalyzers at the gate and that would make the people who want to underage drink have to stay at a hotel because they can’t get in through the gate. That is an additional expense for them plus they would have to get a pass from their commander to stay out. If the commander knows this person may possibly be an underage drinker the commander could not give the soldier a pass. Plus that will keep additional drunks out of the barracks where the vast majority of sexual assaults occur because of alcohol.
Then when these soldiers are caught underage drinking they need to be slammed as in losing rank and doing the maximum extra duty in full combat gear to set an example to anyone else who may be underage drinking. That will shift the underage drinking into the barracks where it is easier to monitor if there is a leadership presence in the barracks which there should be. How come I think we will be talking about off limits bar at Camp Humphreys again in another year?
