The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, or AAFES, says that beginning Jan. 1 it will no longer sell alcohol between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at its stores in the U.S. and around the world.
The change on Army and Air Force bases is meant to support the Pentagon's suicide prevention initiative, which said that limiting when alcohol is available “reduces heavy drinking and other adverse outcomes associated with alcohol misuse,” including suicide, according to Defense Department research and recommendations.
Other initiatives listed in the recommendations by the suicide prevention committee, created by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2022, included increasing the price of alcohol sold on Pentagon property, establishing 24/7 sobriety programs for service members arrested or convicted for alcohol-related crimes, and banning the promotion of alcohol on military bases.
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“Consistent with the Department of Defense's Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee's recommendations, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is aligning the times alcohol can be sold to be consistent with that of DoD's other military exchanges,” Chris Ward, a spokesperson for AAFES, told Military.com by email Friday.
The latest initiative affects 161 Express, Class Six and other exchange stores worldwide, according to Ward, who also indicated that…
