Rules for going off base softened for service members stationed across Japan earlier this month, but Marines must continue carrying so-called" "liberty cards" when they step out.
Color-coded red and gold, the Corps-issued cards determine just how much liberty a Marine can enjoy in Japan. The scope of a Marine's freedom off base – hint: gold is better than red – is based on behavior and adjusted for rank, officials said.
Authorities clarified the Corps' extra stipulations in a Marine Corps news release as revisions to the U.S. Forces Japan-wide liberty policy went into effect Dec. 9. Among the many changes, officials extended curfew to 1 a.m. and required service members to undergo an alcohol education program to be eligible for liberty.
The new policy also put Okinawa-based troops on par with their counterparts on the mainland. Previously, liberty was severely restricted on the island. Service members off base and in public there could enjoy just two drinks – and only with dinner in a restaurant between 6 and 10 p.m.
But the tweaked policy gives commanders purview to impose stricter stipulations, like requiring liberty cards.
"According to the USFJ policy, authorized commanders may add additional measures as deemed appropriate," said Col. Eric M. Mellinger, chief of staff of III Marine Expeditionary Force, in the release. "For Marines this means that we will continue to use the liberty card system, which continues to serve us well to manage off-duty conduct and reward good behavior."
Marines in the rank of sergeant and below with a rank of E-5 or below with a red card only can only venture forth with a liberty buddy, a restriction that which usually only applies to select service members off-base after 10 p.m. Marines in those ranks who are A Marine of one of the aforementioned ranks deployed in Japan for fewer than 150 days must abide by these rules regardless of their card's color.
The 1 to 5 a.m. curfew applies to all Marines in these pay grades.
Officers and NCOs with red cards will find the same limitations placed upon liberty as enlisted men. By contrast, their counterparts with gold cards can forego eschew a buddy and avoid curfew restrictions regardless of irrespective to the length or circumstances of their stay in Japan.
When it comes to alcohol, though, all service members are equal regardless of rank or branch. Drinking off-base and in public is forbidden between midnight and 5 a.m.
Mellinger said the Marine-specific stipulations were developed with civilian officials.
"Leadership has been working with the [Japanese government] and local authorities throughout this process," he said in the release. "Local officials will continue to be kept informed of any changes to liberty policy."
Military officials severely restricted liberty rules in Japan in 2012, cracking down after several prominent incidents, including the rape of a woman on Okinawa by two sailors. Both were later convicted of the crime.
Plans for softening the liberty policy reportedly were in the works for months. Okinawa-based Marines said they heard of the possible tweaks early last summer.
