Osan

"There are many bars and clubs off base and many base members spend much leisure time at them."

Thus sayeth the wikipedia page for Osan Air Base in South Korea. It is possibly the most exceptional understatement on the entire Internet.

No small number of bases that closed with the ending of the Cold War had a reputation for "leisure time" similar to what Osan still maintains. It is perhaps the last of its kind, however. Which makes it all the more surprising that they had an alcohol-free weekend last month. One ordered by the commander of the 7th Air Force, naturally - it was not a spontaneous or coincidental decision by the troops.  It is being followed up by a regulation against new arrivals drinking alcohol for their first 30 days. Note that many Korea tours are only 12 months long, so that's a significant proportion of possible partying prevented by this promulgation.

It seems relevant to the Crisis, probably because it feels like youngsters being protected from themselves. The article mentions 100 alcohol-related incidents in the last year, including several near-fatalities, so there's enough evidence of alcohol abuse to justify intervention. (In case one massive understatement isn't enough.) Improving performance may be another goal - this sort of "leisure time" can result in problems on the job, too. There appears to be some additional concern about how it might affect relationships with the Koreans, which may be a more important reason. A recent Air Force Times article mentions a broad movement of personnel to the Pacific, indicating a increase in the strategic importance of this base.

A shift in priorities, a move toward protecting Millennials, a need to be better than ever - the Crisis could be behind any of them, or all.