In one of @olgakulaga 's live streams last week, the topic of drinking in your twenties came up. Another member made a comment, and I responded with something about how I thought civilian drinking stories were cute. I wish I could remember his name, I'd tag him, because I hope I didn't make him feel bad. Anyway, Olga said she was curious what I meant, and her wish is my command 😆. Spoiler, this is another Army-heavy blog.
It started at my first duty station in Korea, Camp Casey. We were north of the "no-smile line," so there was nothing to do on the weekends but drink. Even outside the base, the "town" was completely made up of bars and brothels, and since I was only 19, I wasn't legally able to drink. The traditional welcome at Camp Casey on your first weekend, was to be stuffed inside your sleeping bag with a bottle of alcohol, then hung upside down in a wall locker until you finished every last drop. If you were smart, you'd dump most of it into the sleeping bag before you passed out from the blood rushing to your head. Then, every weekend after that, as long as we weren't out in the field, we drank...a lot. Some weekends, we drank ourselves sober, which I don't even think is scientifically possible. And with the drinking came the kinds of activities that only occur when a large group of 18 to 23 year old males are gathered. There were duels with bamboo Samurai swords (I think they're called Shinai sticks), skateboard jousts in the hallways with afore mentioned bamboo swords, weekend-long air-soft wars that engulfed the entire barracks (and sometimes neighboring buildings), setting each other on fire with lighter fluid, and basically anything we could think of doing with our limited resources. The dumber and more self-destructive, the better. Here's a hint, CKY (the precursor to Jackass was huge back then).
From Korea, I took a little break, since I deployed to Iraq almost immediately after getting back. But we picked right back up when we got back state-side, to Fort Campbell. It wasn't just the amount we drank, it was the kinds of things we were doing after a night of drinking. It was commonplace to stay up until 2 0r 3 in the morning, then wake up at 5:30 A.M. to go on a 5-7 mile run, or a 12 mile ruck march. Let me tell you, you haven't lived (while simultaneously wishing you were dead), until you complete a 12 mile stress-fire* after a night of drinking. If it sounds like I'm bragging, I'm not. While it was fun at the time, and I have fond memories from that time, it was the height of stupidity and very irresponsible. I, personally, took a long break from drinking at all, after I drank a whole bottle of vodka, and apparently had it out with my company commander. I don't remember this happening since I was blacked out, but a friend filled me in. Although it may not seem like it, since I openly admit to drunk-blogging on the weekends, I have since greatly matured with my alcohol consumption. I only drink recreationally, not to self-medicate. Anyway, while I'm not proud of it, that's why I scoff at most peoples' stories of their college drinking 🤷♂️. Please don't think less of me 🥺😆.
