Stars and Stripes
Thomas Brennan was still unloading his bags at his first duty station when he saw the other Marines drinking on the catwalks. “In a way, I expected it,” he said. “A bunch of people partying, having a good time, getting ready to go to war.” Brennan, now a sergeant who will be medically retired this month, said drinking and partying in the barracks isn’t quite as obvious now. Marines know they will be punished if they get caught drinking underage or drinking hard liquor in the barracks, he said. But that doesn’t mean the drinking has stopped. People just keep their doors closed, he said, and if the platoon sergeant is coming at 6:30 a.m. for inspection, “that means all the evidence is gone by 6:15.”
