Alcohol Use and Military Performance
Abstract
An international comparison of armed forces personnel reveals that military use of alcohol exceeds civilian rates. In this perspective, air force personnel do not tend to consume as much alcohol as personnel from other armed services. From a 2006 survey of perceptions of unwanted behaviours it appears that 15% of the Netherlands armed forces personnel reports misuse of alcohol in their units. Misuse of alcohol appears to increase the likelihood of bullying and harassment. It also has a negative relationship with military performance as risks of mistakes increase. In a 2008 sample of this study twenty- seven percent of this these respondents agreed or strongly agreed to the item that in their unit too much alcohol was consumed. Respondents who deployed reported less misuse of alcohol, compared to respondents who never deployed. Deployments decrease the use of alcohol, but before and after deployments this use seems to increase. Recommendations are made for further research and more accurate measurements to detect the misuse of alcohol.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA567918
Entities
People
- Marten Meijer
- Neil Verrall