cannabisnews.com: Military Looks To Drugs for Battle Readiness





Military Looks To Drugs for Battle Readiness
Posted by CN Staff on August 09, 2002 at 16:05:52 PT
By Brad Knickerbocker, Special to The CSM
Source: Christian Science Monitor 
When Navy fighter pilot "Maverick" and his sidekick "Goose" declare "I feel the need – the need for speed!" in the box-office hit "Top Gun," they're speaking about the capabilities of their fast and furious F-14 Tomcat. In the air war over Afghanistan, "the need for speed" may have taken on quite a different meaning."Speed" is the well-known nickname for amphetamines, the controversial and potentially harmful drug some American pilots are taking in order to enhance their performance.
Despite the possibility of addiction and potential side effects that include hypertension and depression, such drugs are needed, military officials believe, in order to stay alert and focused – especially on long-range bombing missions. Such flights can mean nine hours or more alone in expensive, high-performance aircraft. Their lethal weapons are aimed at an elusive enemy that can be and has been confused with civilians or friendly troops.According to military sources, the use of such drugs (commonly Dexedrine) is part of a cycle that includes the amphetamines to fight fatigue, and then sedatives to induce sleep between missions. Pilots call them "go pills" and "no-go pills." For most Air Force pilots in the Gulf War and nearly all pilots in some squadrons, this was the pattern as well.The drugs are legal, and pilots are not required to take them – although their careers may suffer if they refuse.Amphetamines follow a pattern that goes back at least 40 years to the early days of the Vietnam War – further back if one counts strong military coffee as a stimulant. But they're also part of a new trend that foresees "performance enhancements" designed to produce "iron bodied and iron willed personnel," as outlined in one document of the US Special Operations Command, which oversees the elite special-operations troops that are part of all the military services.Indeed, the ability to keep fighting for days at a time without normal periods of rest, to perform in ways that may seem almost superhuman (at least well beyond the level of most people in today's armed services), is seen by military officials as the key to success in future conflicts."The capability to resist the mental and physiological effects of sleep deprivation will fundamentally change current military concepts of 'operational tempo' and contemporary orders of battle for the military services," states a document from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). "In short, the capability to operate effectively, without sleep, is no less than a 21st Century revolution in military affairs that results in operational dominance across the whole range of potential U.S. military employments." A 'radical approach' What's called for, according to DARPA, is a "radical approach" to achieve "continuous assisted performance" for up to seven days. This would actually involve much more than the "linear, incremental and ... limited" approaches of stimulants like caffeine and amphetamines."Futurists say that if anything's going to happen in the way of leaps in technology, it'll be in the field of medicine," says retired Rear Adm. Stephen Baker, the Navy's former chief of operational testing and evaluation, who is now at the Center for Defense Information in Washington. "This 'better warrior through chemistry' field is being looked at very closely," says Admiral Baker, whose career includes more than 1,000 aircraft-carrier landings as a naval aviator. "It's part of the research going on that is very aggressive and wide open."In a memo outlining technology objectives, the US Special Operations Command notes that the special-forces "operator" of the future can expect to rely on "ergogenic substances" (such as drugs used by some athletes) "to manage environmental and mentally induced stress and to enhance the strength and aerobic endurance of the operator."The memo continues: "Other physiological enhancements might include ways to overcome sleep deprivation, ways to adjust the circadian rhythms to reduce jet lag, as well as ways to significantly reduce high altitude/under water acclimatization time by the use of blood doping or other methods."Although the Air Force Surgeon General's office recently acknowledged that "prescribed drugs are sometimes made available to counter the effects of fatigue," it is not publicly known how widespread the practice is or whether special-operations forces on the ground in Afghanistan are taking such drugs.But it is certainly widely talked about among combat veterans and military experts."Given the extent of recreational drug use within the military, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs among athletes, it is very easy to imagine that warriors would consider using any manner of drug they thought would increase their chance of returning home alive," says John Pike, a defense expert with GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Va.During the Gulf War, according to one military study, "pilots quickly learned the characteristics of the stimulant [Dexedrine] and used it efficiently." Pilots were issued the pills and took them if and when they felt the need.Some people have defended that practice. "If you can't trust them with the medication, then you can't trust them with a $50 million airplane to try and kill someone," says one squadron commander whose unit had the fewest pilots but flew more hours and shot down more Iraqi MIGs than any other squadron.But military officials, as well as medical experts, warn that the use of amphetamines can clearly have its bad side.The flight surgeon's guide to "Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations" (written by the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Fla.) mentions such possible side effects as euphoria, depression, hypertension, and addiction. There's also the possibility of "idiosyncratic reactions" (amphetamines can be associated with feelings of aggression and paranoia) as well as getting hooked on the "cyclic use of a stimulant/sedative combination.""The risk of drug accumulation from repetitive dosing warrants serious consideration," the guide notes. The "informed consent" form that military pilots must sign notes that "the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of Dexedrine to manage fatigue." Amnesia on the job? It's not just the "go pills" that can cause problems in certain individuals. "No-go pills," used to induce sleep, can have dangerous side effects as well – including the possibility of what's called "anterograde amnesia ... amnesia of events during the time the medication has an effect.""For the military aviator, this raises the possibility of taking the medication, going to a brief, taking off, and then not remembering what he was told to do," according to the lab's report.But researchers say suchsymptoms "are primarily dose related and are not expected with 5-10 mgs of dextro-amphetamine (Dexedrine)" – the amounts given to pilots in the Gulf War and in Afghanistan.For the most part, the issue of prescribed drug use by US pilots has gone unreported in the United States. But in England and Canada, it has been raised recently – especially in a possible connection with errant bombings.In April, four Canadian soldiers were killed and another eight injured when an American F-16 pilot on a long-range mission, thinking he was under attack, dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on an allied military exercise."The initial version of the Canadian incident portrayed the pilot as behaving with inexplicable aggression tinged with paranoia, and my first thought was that the poor guy had been eating too much speed," says Mr. Pike of -- http://www.GlobalSecurity.org Officials are still investigating that accident, and the pilot has been questioned, among other things, about the possibility of drug use.More recently, concerns have been raised about aggression and violence among soldiers returning from Afghanistan. In three of four cases in which men killed their wives, the accused husbands were in special-forces units based at Fort Bragg, N.C."It is quite obvious that someone needs to pose this question in the context of the business at Fort Bragg," says Pike. "This sort of hyper-aggressive behavior is just what one would associate with excessive use of such drugs or from withdrawal from using them."As the US moves into an era in which national security is likely to mean wars fought from the air – using attack aircraft and small, specially trained units flown long distances to the battlefield – the issue of performance-enhancing drug use by US military personnel is likely to escalate. "The real story here is the ever-extending reach of air power," says Daniel Goure, a military specialist at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. "We were flying F-15s out of Lakeheath a Royal Air Force base in the United Kingdom during Kosovo. Why? Because we had used up the available landing space everywhere else.""As asymmetric threats such as ballistic missiles become more available to our adversaries, we are going to stand even farther back," adds Dr. Goure. "That means that this problem i.e., the need to combat pilot fatigue can only grow."Note: As combat flights get longer, pilot use of amphetamines grows, as do side effects.Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)Author: Brad Knickerbocker, Special To The Christian Science Monitor Published:  August 09, 2002 EditionCopyright: 2002 The Christian Science Publishing SocietyContact: oped csps.comWebsite: http://www.csmonitor.com/Related Articles:U.S. Pilots Stay Up Taking 'Uppers' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13624.shtmlDrug's Effect on Brain Is Extensive, Study Finds http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8899.shtml
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Comment #25 posted by Industrial Strength on August 09, 2002 at 23:00:17 PT
as you said
You can either laugh or cry.
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Comment #24 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 22:55:42 PT
Disrespect of the dead and suffering
I hate the fact that people are dying, especially in the name of peace.
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Comment #23 posted by Industrial Strength on August 09, 2002 at 22:47:24 PT
prime time
I saw Bill O'Reily talking about how all news networks only show impartial news during the day. During prime time they want even more sensationalist, opinionated, entertainment value having shows to try and compete with prime time tv shows.
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Comment #22 posted by E_Johnson on August 09, 2002 at 22:43:31 PT
Aaaron Brown I don't like anyway
He had this woman on who was saying that all illegal drug use needs to be completely stamped out in order to defeat terrorism, and he acted like he agreed with her, he acted like that statement made sense.He didn't point out that she was making a historically unsupportable assertion, to say the least.I guess he doesn't like to challenge his guests with facts?Odd behavior for a show with the word "News" in the title.
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Comment #21 posted by Industrial Strength on August 09, 2002 at 22:39:02 PT
disrespect?
What did that mean?
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Comment #20 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 22:34:30 PT
Marc Emery
I watched this video on Pot-TV and wished Marc lived in my town. Some of the audio is barely audible, but I think it was good viewing. At least watch Marcs' statement to the council in the first few minutes of the video.
The Prince of Pot vs Vancouver City Council
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on August 09, 2002 at 22:23:01 PT
BGreen
That's ok I thought you just didn't like him. He is a very melancholy news broadcaster. That's why his program is hard to watch for me. I thought he would show compassion but I think the news stations are catching a lot of flack over all the good press we've gotten. It sure seems that way this week. On a good note. I received a nice thank you note from Michael Kirshner from the Marijuana Policy Project today. He appreciates all the coverage C News has given.
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Comment #18 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 22:10:14 PT
I should have been more specific in comment #5
I think you now know what I meant.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on August 09, 2002 at 22:07:19 PT
BGreen 
No I missed that part and sat through the whole darn boring show. Bummer. 
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Comment #16 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 21:49:35 PT
FoM, did you see the beginning of Aaron Brown?
He explained that a "moment of conscience" prevented him from doing the story about Nevada. He said they couldn't round up any guests except the "usual suspects," and we'd already heard what they have say. He said they'd do it "when they find the right combination of people."
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Comment #15 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 21:39:18 PT
I meant no disrespect to anyone.
I'm actually appalled by this whole thing. I use humor to keep from crying.
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Comment #14 posted by Industrial Strength on August 09, 2002 at 21:31:25 PT
Zulu's
The Zulu warriors used to take mushrooms and snuff cannabis before going into battle. I think snuffing cannabis would be an intresting experiment. Anyway. I liked the joke about the elvis diet, B. It certainly adds a dark, comical tinge to the bombing of those hapless Canucks when it comes to light the piolet was all strung out on dexies. "They're after me! Ahhh! Drop the bomb!! hahahahaha (manical laughter, y'all know what it sounds like)." I wonder how the piolets would do if they got all dusted before flying combat sorties. That would keep 'em alert and have some really intresting consequences...
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Comment #13 posted by E_Johnson on August 09, 2002 at 21:22:35 PT
But this is really sick
Not that almost every day there isn't some really sick thing happening in the WOD.But um launching all of these oppressive anti-meth bills in Congress that are really aimed at pot smokers, while the US military is forcing their finest young men to become meth addicts in the name of national security...This is really, really sick.A meth addict in uniform flying a fighter jet is a hero doing his job for national security but a meth addict in torn jeans and a T shirt is a criminal who needs to be locked up until he learns to live right?
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Comment #12 posted by E_Johnson on August 09, 2002 at 21:16:12 PT
I'll bet they're on steroids too
But they're also part of a new trend that foresees "performance enhancements" designed to produce "iron bodied and iron willed personnel," as outlined in one document of the US Special Operations Command, which oversees the elite special-operations troops that are part of all the military services.This just sounds like the whole military is involved in an illegal drug ring, because anabolic steroids are illegal.And maybe those four women died from roid rage. Roid rage is what steroid addicts get. Sudden irrational fits of violent rage.
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Comment #11 posted by ekim on August 09, 2002 at 21:11:22 PT
http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Pubdate: Thu, 8 Aug 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters s...
Website: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Fredric N. TulskySCIENTIST'S DEATH HAUNTS FAMILYThe death in 1953 of a government scientist, Frank Olson, in a fall
from a New York hotel window, is one of the most notorious cases in
CIA history.Only in 1975 did Olson's family learn that the CIA had slipped LSD
into his drink, days before his death. President Ford apologized for
an experiment gone awry, and promised that the government would reveal
everything about the case.But newly obtained documents show that the Ford administration
continued to conceal information about Olson -- particularly, his role
in some of the CIA's most controversial research of the Cold War, on
anthrax and other biological weapons.The documents show that two of the key officials involved in the
decision to withhold that information were White House aides Dick
Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, today the nation's vice president and
secretary of Defense
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Comment #10 posted by E_Johnson on August 09, 2002 at 21:06:55 PT
Think the military is on drugs? Check the DEA
I swear to God I think there is an anabolic steroid epidemic in the DEA. They so look it. Someone ought to investigate. It's not hard. The signs of steroid abuse are visible to the naked eye.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on August 09, 2002 at 19:57:09 PT
They Didn't Have It On!
NewsNight with Aaron Brown:Marijuana may soon be legal in Nevada. But who's backing a measure to soften the state's anti-pot laws? (10 p.m. ET)Friday, August 09, 2002  
Pot legalization takes center stage in Nevada Marijuana may soon be legal in Nevada. But you'll never guess who's just endorsed a measure to soften the state's anti-pot laws. We take a look who's supporting an initiative that would let adults legally possess small amounts of marijuana. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/aaron.brown/
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Comment #8 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 19:41:15 PT
If I would have read the entire article
I would have seen most of my points were already mentioned by the author. Oh well, at least it allowed me to hypothesize and research for myself, and I came up with the same conclusion as this author.
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Comment #7 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 19:33:28 PT
SmithKline Beecham makes Dexedrine
Now, look at the multiple mentions of SmithKline Beecham, as well as many major pharmaceutical companies, in the list of Gov't officials histories.
Revolving door between the US Government and Industry
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Comment #6 posted by canaman on August 09, 2002 at 19:27:07 PT
Quick........
What do you do to end the scourge of drugs and terror in the land? Ahhh...is it "take drugs and inflict terror?"......WWJD?
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Comment #5 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 19:03:11 PT
Great Show, Aaron Brown. NOT!
Jeez. What a cop-out.
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 18:58:18 PT
Dextroamphetamine versus Methamphetamine
So structually similar that it's safe to assume the same effects and side-effects. Any tweaker you've ever seen strung out on Meth is just like our soldiers. No wonder they're killing kids and Canadians.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 09, 2002 at 18:54:58 PT
Aaron Brown 10ET Tonight about Nevada
Interesting links about amphetamines.Adolf Hitler
(1889-1945)
Methamphetamine addict? a prematurely aged Adolf Hitler (1945)
http://amphetamines.com/adolf-hitler.html
Amphetamines, Adolf Hitler and World War Two
http://amphetamines.com/amphetam.html
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Comment #2 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 18:53:03 PT
The Elvis Diet
According to military sources, the use of such drugs (commonly Dexedrine) is part of a cycle that includes the amphetamines to fight fatigue, and then sedatives to induce sleep between missions. Pilots call them "go pills" and "no-go pills." For most Air Force pilots in the Gulf War and nearly all pilots in some squadrons, this was the pattern as well.
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Comment #1 posted by BGreen on August 09, 2002 at 18:35:44 PT
I wonder if these are the same
Special Forces members who are coming back home and murdering their wives?Because three of the four soldiers charged with killing their wives had recently returned from duty in Afghanistan, some have suggested that the stresses of deployment may have contributed to the violence. Others argue that the culture and training of elite forces–three of the soldiers were Special Forces officers and one was with the Delta Force–prime men for homicide.
Death at Fort Bragg
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