Long-term follow up study of military alcohol treatment programme using post-treatment career as an outcome measure.

The long term military careers of soldiers who had completed an in-patient alcohol treatment programme in 1983 were examined. Compared to a matched control group, soldiers who had received treatment served for a significantly shorter time post-treatment. Only 40% of the treatment group were discharged from the service on normal grounds. It is suggested that post-treatment career provides a useful outcome measure and indicates that even after extensive inpatient treatment, the results are poor.