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\u201cI\u2019m going to point out [that] these signs have been on at least our barracks vending machine for probably 2 to 3 months,\u201d our source said. \u201cThey have been getting restocked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when our intrepid source trekked over to the PX to see if the energy drinks had disappeared there, he found fully stocked machines without<\/i> the sign. Perhaps the ban is intended only for the barracks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly after that discovery, Chris Ward, AAFES spokesperson, reached out to Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[Energy drinks] have been removed from the barracks,\u201d Ward said. \u201cI confirmed it with the [Exchange] GM there, and that is in fact the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ward explained that garrison command had requested the change, but that he didn\u2019t know why it had occurred, or why it was only within the barracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Noting that some machines were still receiving stock, Ward said, \u201cI hadn\u2019t heard that.\u201d So I apologize to anyone on Fort Drum whose vending machines are empty on Monday morning \u2013\u2013 it\u2019s probably my fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But why were the signs even there in the first place? Don\u2019t people know that the entire U.S. military has been fueled by the likes of Wild Tiger and Rip-Its for nearly two decades?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for the Fort Drum Garrison, Julie Halpin, explained it in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnergy drinks were removed from the vending machines as part of an initiative to provide healthier options to Soldiers living in the barracks,\u201d she said, adding that it wasn\u2019t solely Lucas\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was done, not by the command of the Garrison Commander, but as a cooperative effort between the Garrison, 10th Mountain Division and AAFES,\u201d Halpin said, insisting, \u201cthere was no particular incident that led to this change in beverage options, just an ongoing effort to optimize the health of our fighting force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There won\u2019t be Fort Drum MPs with energy drink-sniffing dogs sweeping the barracks and kicking in the door for your Bang Energy any time soon, luckily. So far as we can tell, it\u2019s not contraband if you buy it elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am not tracking any limits on energy drinks in barracks, nor any effort to put one in place in the future,\u201d explained Halpin, denying that this is a \u201cban\u201d on energy drinks. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen the signs you\u2019re talking about being in pictures, but this was never considered \u2018a ban on energy drinks\u2019 from Fort Drum or 10th Mountain Division\u2019s perspective, rather, an effort across multiple venues (food snack machines included) to offer healthier options to our Soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this development has caused our anonymous E4 mafia source a great deal of concern about how he might survive field exercises in the frozen tundra that is upstate New York without the \u201canti-freeze dual functionality of energy drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was not immediately clear whether any enterprising specialists had started energy drink reselling rings in the wake of the news. Our source has experience scalping similar items during a training center rotation, he said, so you know he\u2019s likely already clearing the shelves at the Walmart in the nearby town of Calcium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 10th Mountain Division\u2019s senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Mario Terenas, took to his official Facebook page<\/a> to dispel rumors of a post-wide ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It may not be a ban, but it\u2019ll sure feel like one to any crusty soldier who encounters a vending machine devoid of his beloved energy drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Editors\u2019 Note: This story has been updated to clarify the statement by AAFES spokesman Chris Ward.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n