Alaska military bases have decided to limit alcohol sales to reduce suicides related to drinking.
Two U.S. military bases in Alaska limited their alcohol sales to decrease drinking-induced mental health issues, including suicide. Effective Friday, “alcohol may not be purchased between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. on the installation,” according to a Facebook post Thursday from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
The base stated that “the health and safety of our people” is “the number 1 priority” and noted that “several scientific studies reviewed by the National Institutes of Health have concluded that restricting the hours when alcohol may be sold is an effective strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.”
Fort Wainwright also issued the same order, said Air Force Maj. Michael Hertzog, a JBER spokesman, according to Military.com.
“The decision to limit the time alcohol is sold on the installation was made using information from science-based studies that show decreasing the hours of sale, by [two] or more hours for businesses that sell alcohol, may be an effective strategy for preventing alcohol-related harms (including suicide),” he said in a statement. “This decision was made after considerable debate, through counsel and with contributions from mission partners and leadership across JBER. Caring for people remains the number [one] priority of JBER leadership.”
A military behavioral health team studied nearly a dozen suicides on Alaskan bases from January 2014 to March 2019, but the group failed to pinpoint the definitive reasons behind the suicides.
