ABSTRACT
The army’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Control Program is available to any soldier who wishes to enroll. The problem deserves special consideration for two reasons: the effect of drug abuse on the combat capability of the forces and the image the problem creates in the West German mind in reference to the US military presence. A military organization is different from a civilian organization in that the presence of a drug problem sabotages the purposes and goals of the organization more than is true in other settings. The problem of drug abuse varies inversely with the general level of morale among the troops. Apart from the case of Vietnam, the US military has had more serious drug-abuse problems with the forces stationed in the Federal Republic than anywhere else in the world, including the United States. The extent to which alcohol consumption represents a serious problem in a military setting is subject to widely divergent interpretations.
