There are going to be a lot of upset ajummas around USFK who are making a fortune off military slot machines if this bill comes into law:

A bill in Congress seeks to eliminate military slot machines overseas that take in $130 million a year, mostly from soldiers.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tennessee, named the bill after Army Warrant Officer Aaron Walsh, a decorated Apache helicopter pilot who became addicted to gambling on military slot machines.

Walsh eventually was discharged from the Army. He committed suicide after several failed attempts to break his addiction.

The Defense Department uses slot machine revenues to pay a small portion of its morale, welfare and recreation programs.

Davis said the money raised off the gambling of soldiers is not worth the risks.

"If American men and women are willing to serve our country overseas we should not be dependent on them to pay for recreational activities they deserve," Davis said in a written statement. "The risks are simply too high and too many to ask that of our soldiers."

The bill’s introduction comes after Walsh’s story was featured in a CNN investigative report. His widow, Carrie Walsh, described how her husband’s life spun out of control while the military refused to intervene. [CNN]

Interestingly enough Warrant Officer Walsh became addicted to slot machines while stationed in Korea.  The military’s MWR programs will take a hit without the slot machines, but side benefits of the military not promoting gambling and reducing the corruption that surrounds it especially in USFK should be worth it. 

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