Military Gambling?

[Frustratedlady]

I just heard part of a segment on CNN where Camp Pendleton had on-site gambling to raise money for recreational programs. At least one soldier became addicted and eventually committed suicide. Did anyone else see that? This soldier had even gone AWOL so he could gamble and ended up homeless. Even though he went through a program to cure his addiction and thought he was doing better, he ended up at a new gambling house in Maine and lost. His widow said it must have been too much for him to realize he couldn't get rid of the problem.

As the reporter asked, with all the money that has been allocated to the military, they still have to set up a gambling operation to finance their recreational program? The military said their payoff was higher than the run-of-the-mill gambling operation. How nice.

I'm sure this segment will be shown again today on CNN.

[soothsayer]

1. what, you wanna' ban slots for everyone cuz some dude has a problem?

The military DOES use it to fund their rec programs. Let 'em.

[Zywiec]

2. I've never seen that in the military

Usually they pass a hat for all the different hails and farewells. Wouldn't this be illegal?

[jody]

3. There's always a group that want troops to NOT smoke or drink or gamble or have sex or do drugs or

you name it.

Anyone who would join such an organization is more likely to be a pacifist than a fighter ready to kill and die for her/his country.

[Frustratedlady]

4. Well, that isn't me. What my gripe is about is the military...

making money off their gambling to finance something that should be in their budget, anyway. And, no. It wasn't just one person who ended up with a gambling problem.

[jody]

5. MWR (morale, recreation, and welfare) include many functions for the entire family. Congress has

reduced funds for MWR so it's not surprising that services use gambling as one source of funds.

Other MWR fund sources are the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (or AAFES), Navy Exchange (NEX), and Marine Corps Exchange (MCX).