Russians, Alcohol, and Reactionary Judgement

 Throughout my youth (in the Air Force), I encountered individuals who had alcohol problems, and in the bulk of decision-making situations (both at work and at home)....they made bad judgement calls.  

They'd show up at the office/shop, and some chaotic event would occur where a logical decision had to be made, and the prior evening's affects of boozing-up....laid the path for a lousy decision to be made.  Subordinates were forced to live with the consequences of the guy's problem, or compensate by derailing his solutions.  

The more I look at Russian failures in Ukraine, it reaches a point where I start to ask....from the various commanders running around ordering things to be done.....is the Russian tendency to excessively drink and do stupid things part of the bigger issue playing out in this special operation?

This AM, I watched a pick-up point video of Russian reservists.....being herded to some airfield....where the plan was to fly a hundred of the guys down to the border area of Ukraine.  From the video....at least half the guys were excessively drunk and some were laying in the grass.....passed out.  Whether they ever got on the plane or not....unknown. If they did manage to board....with turbulence, I'd figure half of them would be barfing on the flight down, and clean-up would be a problem later.

The US military has a rule for war-zones.....NO BOOZE.  It'll be read to you at least a dozen-odd times.  Failure to comply?  You can lose a stripe, or be in some serious legal trouble.  

So I'm looking over at the Russian situation, and wondering....since the invasion started....how often have Russian soldiers been boozed-up while on a convey situation or led by some commander whose judgement was affected by the previous evening's bottle of vodka?

Trying to pen this whole trend just on booze?  I won't say that.....but if you were looking for a dozen reasons to explain the current mess....it does fit into the discussion.

If I were Ukrainian and knew the history....with Russians advancing toward some town?  I'd put two or three pallets of vodka in the center of town....let them booze up for a couple of hours, then counter-attack while they lay there drunk in the street.