When I read this story this morning (before I get up to go make me some oatmeal), I had to wonder how our smoking military members would react. Well, they’ll be smoking mad.
The PentagoD’s are looking into a ban on smoking for troops. I’m not a smoker and I’m an ex troop, so it isn’t going to hit me either way. I do know that while I was in, the branch I served did a lot to push smoking cessation. They knew that educating people, who most likely picked up the habit as teens, would be the best chance at penetrating the mind of the troop. Nevermind the Surgeon General’s (when was the last time they performed a surgery, anyhow?) warning on each pack of cigarettes. People are gonna smoke em if they got em.
If the ban goes through, it’s going to be hard to regulate and impose. That’s why the PentagoD guys make the big bucks. In fact, some guys stated that they started smoking while in the military. You could go back to basic training for some guys, when they would give them smoke breaks, and some non-smokers “crossed over” just to get away from the stress of training. That’s right. They started smoking because it would provide a break from the drill sergeant. Pretty lame, huh?
The military holds some responsibility for these people smoking. They no longer do the “smoke breaks” in basic training, so it doesn’t happen as often during basic training. Yet, smoking and drinking are very much a part of military culture.
I’d like to see a “ban” on drinking. Now, that would be really fun.
5 Comments
July 12, 2009 at 10:23 am
I say get the damn government out of where it does not belong. These SOB’s are telling us every day what we can and can not do. THAT IS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS JOB! These dumbasses need to be put back in their place and if that means canning their asses then so be it. This jackass Obama is nothing short of Marxist. Scew socialism, he left that behind months ago. Someone needs to check his ass before he (as if he aint already) puts us all in a place we can never recover from.
July 12, 2009 at 11:35 am
What idiot thought this was a good idea!??!?! Obviously some do-gooder who does not have to follow this rule. I don’t smoke and I don’t like 2nd hand smoke but we are supposed tohave freedoms in this country whether you are in the miulitary or not. We tried a ban on alcohol back in the 20’s and see where that got us, Al Capone etc. and an eventual repeal. Why not spend our energies making sure the troops are well equipped (mine resistant vehicles) and better taken care of is they are wounded.
July 12, 2009 at 12:35 pm
AMEN to that!!!
July 12, 2009 at 1:47 pm
We don’t have a problem putting you in harms way. Roadside bombs, religious fanatics strapped with bombs, chemical warfare, tens of thousands of strangers in a strange land all wanting to kill you….hey put out that smoke, that shits bad for ya.
Makes perfect sense.
July 13, 2009 at 8:11 pm
The government has no right to tell people who can and can’t smoke.
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