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<a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette</a> 57 M a r i n e C o r p s G a z e t t e • M a y 2 0 0 9 T here is a lithograph of Marines from various eras wearing the uniforms of their time and gathered around a bar. It was painted by LtCol R.L. Cody and is ap- propriately titled “Happy Hour.” It used to represent the camaraderie most Ma- rine officers shared with one another during regular visits to their local O’Club. Today, however, Cody’s work has come to represent a nostalgic look at a bygone era—a bittersweet tribute to a fading tradition of our Corps. Whether Gen Krulak or ADM Halsey was right begs little question; the truth is simply that the O’Club is dying. How did this happen? For some, the end of the O’Club’s happy hour is not a bad thing and is in line with the master plan that grew out of the infamous 1991 Tailhook scandal in Las Vegas. Shocked and embarrassed by the incident, the Navy and Marine Corps moved to lay the foundation for dramatic, compre- hensive changes that would ultimately shape the Services’ cultural fabric of 2009. Many of the changes were posi- tive and overdue; however, even with the best of intentions, some of the rudder steers made in the early- and mid-1990s have undoubtedly caused negative im- pact to today’s Marines, sailors, and fam- ilies. The death of the O’ Club is one example. After Tailhook the Navy instituted the Right Spirit Campaign, which in- cluded the alcohol abuse prevention and deglamorization campaign. Sem- per Fit was the Marine Corps equiva- lent and partner program. Both aimed nobly at infusing the Services with plans for healthy lifestyles, equal op- portunity, sexual harassment free work- places, and alternatives to alcohol-in- spired charades. Secretary of the Navy John Dalton told an interviewer at the end of his term in 1998 that one of his proudest accomplishments was the deglamorization of alcohol campaign. Although this campaign had many benefits, it quickly became a “de- monization” of alcohol campaign, sometimes resembling a dreaded witch hunt, and rapidly scared away junior officers from the club. O’Clubs could also no longer spon- sor “ladies’ nights,” offer drink specials, The End of the Officers’ Club Bring back happy hour: resuscitating a dying tradition by LtCol Glen Butler >LtCol Butler is currently serving as the Operations Officer, Marine Corps Base Hawaii. This article was his Chase Prize Essay Contest entry. “[This] new comprehensive, aggressive campaign to deglamorize alcohol use . . . is the beginning of a cultural change that must result in decreased alcohol use throughout the Corps. That doesn’t mean a change in Marine Corps tradition . . . any perception that al- cohol is central to our traditions is wrong. The harm that alcohol abuse causes, which is reported to me every day, leads me to believe that this perception does exist. This must change. By working together, this campaign will not only benefit the Marine Corps, but also thousands of individual Marines and their family members.” —Gen Charles C. Krulak, 31st Commandant, ALMAR 151/96, 15 April 1996 “There are exceptions, of course, but as a general rule, I never trust a fighting man who doesn’t smoke or drink.” —ADM William Halsey IDEAS & ISSUES (MCCS)
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