thedrifter
08-13-09, 08:46 AM
Navy stepping up drug testing program
By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, August 13, 2009
NAPLES, Italy — Sailors will face increased random drug tests as a result of recent changes to the Navy’s drug prevention program.
The changes remove the requirement for an annual unit sweep — an unannounced drug test for every member of a command. However, they mandate a minimum of four tests per month that must include at least 15 percent of a command’s members.
There is also a new requirement for commands with more than 500 members to have a permanently assigned drug and alcohol program adviser.
Although the number of sailors who have tested positive for illicit drugs has been on a steady decline, officials say the new testing program is an effort to drive the number of positive test results even lower.
"These changes give us a more robust program," said Bill Flannery, director of the Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention program. "There’s a correlation between an increase in testing and a decrease in positive results. The goal isn’t to catch drug users, the goal is to deter sailors from doing drugs."
The importance of deterrence is best illustrated in terms of cost, he said. It costs relatively little to conduct drug tests compared to cost of losing a trained sailor.
"For every dollar spent on prevention, our return on investment is $205," said Flannery, who estimates the replacement cost for a sailor lost to drug use averages $150,000.
The trend for positive drug tests among sailors shows a steady decrease since 2001, when 6,279 of 934,000 samples tested positive. Last year only 2,120 samples tested positive out of 1.19 million tested, according to the Navy’s Alcohol and Drug Management Information Tracking System.
Flannery thinks that number will go even lower.
"We’re predicting we’ll be below 2,000 positives in the next year, in pursuit of zero," he said. "If we do this correctly, we can get closer to under 500 in the next four or five years."
Those numbers are impressive, considering the drug problem in the Navy was described as "epidemic" by the Department of Defense following the 1981 nighttime crash of an EA-6B Prowler, a plane designed to jam enemy communications and radar.
The Prowler slammed into the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 people, injuring 48 and destroying several fully fueled jets. Damage estimates just on the equipment was in the $150 million range.
Of the 14 sailors killed, the post-accident report pointed to six flight deck crewmembers who had THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) in their systems as a contributing factor, according to the Navy.
The incident was one of the catalysts for the military’s "zero tolerance" policy for drug use instituted by President Ronald Reagan.
"The Navy is taking an extremely aggressive approach with regard to substance abuse issues," said Col. Ronald Shippee, director for the DOD’s drug testing and program policy.
That means working with other agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and Drug Administration and the service criminal investigative agencies to keep on top of what trends might be developing.
A successful program, Flannery said, requires a constant awareness of trends, and monitoring potential abuse of over-the-counter medications, anabolic steroids or even common household products that can be used as recreational drugs.
Among active-duty servicemembers, the Air Force had the lowest percentage of positive drug tests last year, around less than a quarter of one percent of all samples.
The Navy wasn’t far behind with less than half a percent of samples testing positive.
The Army had the highest rate, at 1.75 percent, with the Marine Corps at around 1.4 percent of samples testing positive.
When sailors test positive for drug use, they are usually separated from the service.
However, individuals can mount a legal challenge to test results, a move that can lead to possible criminal prosecution if found guilty in the military court system.
Though numbers for the Navy are low, Flannery said there is no end point for drug prevention. Even if the goal of zero drug use is attained, the process has to continue with a high degree of vigilance.
"The moment we say we’ve won, we’ve lost," Flannery said.
Ellie
By Lisa M. Novak, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, August 13, 2009
NAPLES, Italy — Sailors will face increased random drug tests as a result of recent changes to the Navy’s drug prevention program.
The changes remove the requirement for an annual unit sweep — an unannounced drug test for every member of a command. However, they mandate a minimum of four tests per month that must include at least 15 percent of a command’s members.
There is also a new requirement for commands with more than 500 members to have a permanently assigned drug and alcohol program adviser.
Although the number of sailors who have tested positive for illicit drugs has been on a steady decline, officials say the new testing program is an effort to drive the number of positive test results even lower.
"These changes give us a more robust program," said Bill Flannery, director of the Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention program. "There’s a correlation between an increase in testing and a decrease in positive results. The goal isn’t to catch drug users, the goal is to deter sailors from doing drugs."
The importance of deterrence is best illustrated in terms of cost, he said. It costs relatively little to conduct drug tests compared to cost of losing a trained sailor.
"For every dollar spent on prevention, our return on investment is $205," said Flannery, who estimates the replacement cost for a sailor lost to drug use averages $150,000.
The trend for positive drug tests among sailors shows a steady decrease since 2001, when 6,279 of 934,000 samples tested positive. Last year only 2,120 samples tested positive out of 1.19 million tested, according to the Navy’s Alcohol and Drug Management Information Tracking System.
Flannery thinks that number will go even lower.
"We’re predicting we’ll be below 2,000 positives in the next year, in pursuit of zero," he said. "If we do this correctly, we can get closer to under 500 in the next four or five years."
Those numbers are impressive, considering the drug problem in the Navy was described as "epidemic" by the Department of Defense following the 1981 nighttime crash of an EA-6B Prowler, a plane designed to jam enemy communications and radar.
The Prowler slammed into the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 people, injuring 48 and destroying several fully fueled jets. Damage estimates just on the equipment was in the $150 million range.
Of the 14 sailors killed, the post-accident report pointed to six flight deck crewmembers who had THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) in their systems as a contributing factor, according to the Navy.
The incident was one of the catalysts for the military’s "zero tolerance" policy for drug use instituted by President Ronald Reagan.
"The Navy is taking an extremely aggressive approach with regard to substance abuse issues," said Col. Ronald Shippee, director for the DOD’s drug testing and program policy.
That means working with other agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and Drug Administration and the service criminal investigative agencies to keep on top of what trends might be developing.
A successful program, Flannery said, requires a constant awareness of trends, and monitoring potential abuse of over-the-counter medications, anabolic steroids or even common household products that can be used as recreational drugs.
Among active-duty servicemembers, the Air Force had the lowest percentage of positive drug tests last year, around less than a quarter of one percent of all samples.
The Navy wasn’t far behind with less than half a percent of samples testing positive.
The Army had the highest rate, at 1.75 percent, with the Marine Corps at around 1.4 percent of samples testing positive.
When sailors test positive for drug use, they are usually separated from the service.
However, individuals can mount a legal challenge to test results, a move that can lead to possible criminal prosecution if found guilty in the military court system.
Though numbers for the Navy are low, Flannery said there is no end point for drug prevention. Even if the goal of zero drug use is attained, the process has to continue with a high degree of vigilance.
"The moment we say we’ve won, we’ve lost," Flannery said.
Ellie