Recognizing and responding to alcohol abuse in the armed forces ‐ a case study

The theme of the work is the personal experience in the Royal Navy of an individual with severe alcohol problems. Based on material supplied to the authors, the piece is essentially a case of “Peter”, a former naval rating. Describes his pre‐Navy alcoholic career, his later heavy drinking aboard ship and on shore, and his eventual departure from the Navy. Shows how, in a culture of heavy drinking ‐ some of it hallowed by tradition ‐ the alcoholic can go unnoticed and unstopped; indeed, cultural pressures may even be exerted on him or her to increase consumption of alcohol. It notes that “Peter’s” drinking was apparently only ever tackled at a disciplinary level, never at a therapeutic/counselling one. Controversially, “Peter” contends that his former employer was (and remains) effectively indifferent to alcohol abuse among its workforce. Looks at some of the reasons for a heavy drinking culture, at how it impacts on vulnerable individuals and why it might be difficult to change at an organizational level.