an AA who has had no or little trouble during his enforced separation from the group may be in greater danger during this period of readjustment than the one who has had an up and down fight all the way from enlistment or induction to discharge. If he has gone through military service without any slips or near-slips he has scored a real achievement. The military life imposes severe handicaps on an AA. It usually prevents him from practicing many of the steps on which he normally depends. It divorces him from group therapy, 12th Step work and inspirational talks. It precipitates him into circumstances that are upsetting and that tend to unbalance anyone’s sense of values.
If the AA has survived all of that successfully, he’s likely to feel pretty strong when he returns to normal life. Certainly he feels that now, once again within his home orbit, among AA friends and within reach of all the help he could ask for, he is in much less danger, alcoholically, than he was in the service away from home. So he may very easily let down. He may drop his guard. He may become “too tired” to attend any meetings or do any 12th Step work. He may slack off in doing some of the little things that help to keep an AA growing along AA lines.
If he begins to slide off in any of these ways, he’s heading for a tailspin and a tight inside loop. Whatever hazardous tendencies he may develop will be aggravated by the emotional disturbances which his military-to-civilian readjustment is bound to create for him even if he remains squarely on the beam. The fact is, he has need to double his guard and keep his defenses on the alert during this period.
Those are facts which this AA had to learn the painful way. But in learning those, he also learned that application of the AA way of thinking will ease the transition for the veteran in many ways. Again I have seen how AA not only helps to overcome Personal Enemy No. 1, but how infinitely effective it is on many other human problems.
Again too, I have been reminded forcefully that in AA one cannot stand still for long—he either goes backwards or he grows, and he grows only by using a gradually increasing amount of AA.
T.D.Y.
Guam Calling
May 1948
We hanker for Stateside voices, and Stateside letters is the plea to AA Grapevine from Guam. It is pretty lonesome out here, so some letters or recordings would be greatly appreciated by the group on the island. The islanders promise prompt reply to anyone caring to write. Letters may be sent to: M.K.K., c/o USED, Station 15, Guam, Guam.
Guam
Report From Okinawa
June 1953
Okinawa! To most people that is a word more or less unknown and to some, a reminder of war-torn days in the Far Pacific. But to 100 or so now happy men and women it brings but one quick thought: That’s where I found AA.
These people are now reassigned to various other remote spots on the globe, in construction camps, war zones or military installations, and some are even in the good old U.S.A. To all of them the Pioneer Group on Okinawa sends greetings and best wishes for the continuation of the good work they started or carried on while here.
A civil engineer from Florida, Woody W., got the group going here about six years ago and is still here, proving a solid inspiration for all of us in the group and giving unstintingly of his time and experiences in order to carry the message to any alcoholic who shows the least desire to do something about his own problem.
Due to rotation of military personnel and short-term contracts for civilians there is a heavier-than-normal turnover in our membership, but the size of the group remains fairly constant as new members come in at about the same rate that members are rotated home.
Grapevine has provided us with much food for thought; nearly every meeting includes subjects for discussion or quotes from one of the copies. We look forward to every issue with keen anticipation.
As each member’s time draws near he begins checking up in the AA Directory to locate the group nearest to his home or new duty station. This is a good sign that he has found the AA way of life to be the solution to his problem and that he has hope in his heart for continued sobriety and peace of mind.
If a member from Okinawa shows up in your home group, please give him an extra-warm handclasp for us and let him know that our thoughts and prayers are for him.
Bob S.
Okinawa
AA Air-Borne
(From: From the Grass Roots)
May 1959
I am a member of the RCAF and was one of the last few to leave Claresholm, Alberta, after the closing of the RCAF Station there.
The Air Base officially closed in August 1958, but my wife and I did not get out of Claresholm until December 17. During this period there were numerous “closing out” parties going on and an awful temptation to drink. It was only through God’s help and the kind understanding and capable assistance of AA friends in Fort MacLeod, Lethbridge, and Picture Butte and having AA Grapevine handy that I was able to stay sober.
I am now stationed in Calgary and approaching my second year of sobriety with AA. I wouldn’t trade any part of the sober time for any part of my life when I was drinking. It took three slips before I finally stuck with AA and the last time I came in without reservations and with an honest admission that I am an alcoholic.
I am only 24 now and sure hope that other young people can find AA as soon in life as I did and save themselves a lot of misery that drinking can bring. Both my wife and I really enjoy the new way of life we have found with AA. We enjoy reading Grapevine every month and hope you keep up the good work.
J.M.
Calgary, Alberta
A Flier Lands
(From: Mail Call for All AAs at Home or Abroad)
January 1947
It was an unexpected pleasure to receive your very nice letter. I suppose the explanation as to why I finally joined AA is now in order, so here goes. My glittering career in the Army was studded with several meteoric rises and just as rapid falls. I went from a private to technical sergeant twice before they finally made me a flight officer. I managed to hold onto that for a little longer period than the others, but even that wound up when I went on a ferry trip and landed the ship at the wrong base, so cockeyed I couldn’t walk away from it. I might have gotten away with that if I hadn’t gotten my copilot drunk too. This last little episode was really the whizzer of them all. I was transferred to a new base and became the only flying private in the Air Corps.
Things went so well they decided to start me up the ladder again; so they gave me a little rank. (This was in January, 1945.) Naturally I had to celebrate it, so I went to town for two quarts and wound up in Kansas City, Missouri (60 miles away). It was such a fine place and the people so hospitable that I lengthened my stay to 60 days. On the 60th day they came after me! The rest is history! I drew a sentence of three years at hard labor, which I very rightly deserved.
It was while I was at Jefferson Barracks that a group of us decided to try and start AA in the Disciplinary Barracks. It really worked out much better than we had hoped. When we moved down here we really went to work
