The commander of Task Force Sinai has amended newly-instituted alcohol policy memorandums that initially appeared to exempt him and other senior leaders from a ban on alcohol possession and excessive consumption.
The first memorandum signed by Task Force Sinai commander Col. David Sentell on Tuesday, and shared by U.S. Army WTF Moments, instituted a two-drink limit for all servicemembers assigned to the mission, which supports the Multinational Force and Observers monitoring a four-decade-old peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
Limits on purchase, possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages are typical for units stationed overseas.
What wasn’t typical, though, was that the memorandum exempted Sentell and five other senior leaders from the restrictions — including the ban on getting drunk.
Paragraph 4b of the initial memorandum banned soldiers from “consum[ing] alcohol to the point of intoxication,” but paragraph 5c said that “servicemembers may be exempted by name from restrictions in Paragraph 4b.”
An accompanying memorandum then named Sentell and five other leaders as exempt.
When reached by Army Times, officials said that the exemption was partially in error and Sentell had corrected the policy.
“The Task Force Sinai commander recently reviewed the alcohol consumption policy and instituted a two-drink limit for all assigned US personnel, to include the task force’s senior leaders,” said Maj. Jessica Rovero, a spokesperson for 1st Theater Sustainment Command. “The original memo had an error… in reference to senior leaders being exempt to the limit. All TF Sinai personnel are required to adhere to the two-drink limit.”
Rovero emphasized that the policy was meant to “ensure the safety and welfare of our service members.”
She added that senior leaders were exempt from the purchase and possession portions of the ban in order to facilitate “official duty events” with service members from other countries.
“Exceptions to this policy can be requested and have been granted in the past for subordinate unit events,” she said.
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
