Starting Jan. 1, 2024, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service will cut off alcohol sales between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at all stores, which aligns it with a Navy Exchange policy from 2013. The measure is part of the Pentagon’s effort to reduce suicides in the military. (Stars and Stripes)
Stopping by the base shoppette to grab a few beers in the early-morning hours after a swing shift will soon be a convenience of the past.
Late-night booze runs are in the Pentagon’s crosshairs as it looks to reduce suicides in the military. Starting Jan. 1, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service will cut off alcohol sales between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at all stores, spokesman Chris Ward said Thursday.
The change affects 161 express, Class Six and main exchange outlets worldwide, he said, and comes on the heels of sweeping Defense Department suicide prevention recommendations released earlier this year.
Only about 25% of exchange retail outlets, such as 24-hour shoppettes and gas stations, sell alcohol from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. About 630 exchange locations sell packaged beer, wine and spirits, Ward said.
Overnight alcohol sales accounted for less than 1% of the company’s total alcohol sales last year, he said.
The new policy also aligns AAFES with DOD’s other military exchanges, Ward said. The Navy Exchange stopped selling alcohol from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. at 113 locations in 2013, spokeswoman Courtney Williams said Thursday.
That change, however, was part of a Navy push to reduce sexual assaults and other crimes tied with alcohol abuse, The Associated Press reported in 2013.
Reducing alcohol availability on DOD installations is one of 127 recommendations in a February report by an independent review committee that seeks to address the military’s suicide crisis.
According to research cited in the study, limiting the days and times during which alcohol can be sold reduces heavy drinking and other adverse outcomes associated with alcohol misuse.
In 2021, about 18% of service members who died by suicide had an alcohol use disorder diagnosis, similar to nationwide trends, the report said.
The committee heard repeatedly “that excessive alcohol use is a serious problem among military personnel” and junior enlisted troops “spoke openly about their own excessive use,” the report said.
Other alcohol-related recommendations that came out of the report include: ban the promotion of and increase the price of alcohol sold on DOD bases; fund transportation programs for service members living on base; and establish a 24/7 sobriety program for service members arrested on suspicion of or convicted of alcohol-related offenses.
Stars and Stripes reporter Kyle Alvarez contributed to this report.
