I just returned from a yearlong tour in Iraq about two months ago.

I’m back in Ames to have fun and relax, so I’ve been drinking a lot of beer. On Friday night, I was walking down Knapp Street with a 12-pack of Busch Light and received a citation for “Possession of Alcohol Under the Legal Age.” This was after I showed the ISU Police officer my military ID and explained to him my situation.

I’m confused — the United States can trust me in Baghdad with a machine gun, upholding the rules of the Geneva Convention — but I am too immature to drink alcohol? I admit I made two mistakes: I carried it in plain sight, and it was Busch Light.

Regardless, it’s time this country started respecting us all the time, not just when it wants something out of us. If you can join the military and risk your life for your country at 18, you should be able to drink as well.

Aaron Gott

Sophomore

Political Science