Posted on Feb 28, 2014
We want to down size...What do you think about a 100% drug test and if you fail you are out, no questions asked?
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Drugs
Policy
Downsizing
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 20
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I think a better way would be to evaluate everyone as a soldier. Drugs have no place in the Armed Forces but after 13 years of war you are going to throw out, on their asses I might add, a lot of guys who are either A. Self-medicating to deal with the psychological trauma they have been through, or B. are self-medicating to keep going because they are so dedicated that that bum knee isn't going to stop them and they are all jacked up on whatever they can get their hands on to get through PT in the morning. Our Battalion did this after our second deployment and there were issues. Good soldiers got the boot for a first time offense, some soldiers intentionally used to get caught and get kicked out because that seemed better than another deployment, which then depleted our ranks. There is no catch-all answer for how to go about down-sizing but this idea would put a lot of good veterans in a needlessly bad situation upon discharge.
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I think its a great idea. I have no tolerance or sympathy for drug use. I understand the issue with addiction, but in order to be addicted, a free choice was made.
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SGT (Join to see)
Wow, Sgt Bytnar. I'm not sure if you realize that the military, as of 2012, has expanded drug testing to include medications like benzodiazepines and opiates?
I would hope that an NCO would have a better grasp than this! Please, for the sake of your soldiers, take some time and read a little about addiction and recovery!
I would hope that an NCO would have a better grasp than this! Please, for the sake of your soldiers, take some time and read a little about addiction and recovery!
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SGT (Join to see)
I understand what both of you are saying. Yes, I was harsh in my original statement, and I did over-compartmentalize. There are indeed horrible situation in which the individual does not choose to start medicating. However, even Soldiers and others recovering from traumatic type injuries (or other medical conditions) reach a point where they can make the choice to ask for help. I have a very good grasp on addiction, a few very personal stories which I won't go into here, but these old experiences have me hardened around the edges so to speak.
If one of my Soldiers had a problem, I will do everything I can to help, but he or she needs to make the choice to ask for that help. As much as I might care or try (and I have), I am not responsible for their addiction or their recovery...only they are.
If they piss hot (yes, even for benzodiazepines and opiates without a valid script), then yes, I think they should be gone. They are not living the Army values. If they ask for help, if they seek treatment while still in service (but before the piss test), I will be the first one to take them where they need to go and as supportive to them as I can.
I apologize for coming across as uncaring and unschooled in the subject. Because it is one that I have been so close to, I sometimes get a bit emotional over the topic. I hope this has helped.
If one of my Soldiers had a problem, I will do everything I can to help, but he or she needs to make the choice to ask for that help. As much as I might care or try (and I have), I am not responsible for their addiction or their recovery...only they are.
If they piss hot (yes, even for benzodiazepines and opiates without a valid script), then yes, I think they should be gone. They are not living the Army values. If they ask for help, if they seek treatment while still in service (but before the piss test), I will be the first one to take them where they need to go and as supportive to them as I can.
I apologize for coming across as uncaring and unschooled in the subject. Because it is one that I have been so close to, I sometimes get a bit emotional over the topic. I hope this has helped.
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SGT (Join to see)
Well, SGT, thank you for your elaboration. You know how typing stuff can lose skew a person's heart...
Sometimes, though, a soldier may not know that he or she has a problem. The soldier may feel trapped. As much as we like to brief everybody on this subject...seek help, etc., the fact remains that the stigma still exists. And not only a stigma, but actual, real-life repercussions exist.
Say, for instance, a young soldier, just back from combat, sheltered his entire life, had watched his Battle die. (Have you ever seen someone's brain ejected from their skull?) This young soldier comes back home. He watches these briefings. He thinks, "Oh god. Finally. It's okay. It's okay! I'm not by myself in this nightmare. I've dreamed about putting that pistol in my mouth. I know that I need somebody to walk me through this. My unit buddies seem to all be okay. Maybe I'm weird. Maybe I'm weak." And through his haze, maybe one of his Battles recognizes what he has seen in himself and helps the broken soldier to counseling, hoping to make him "whole" again. (Because most soldiers do NOT seek therapy on their own.)
This young soldier goes to counseling. The counselor, in paperwork, states that she feels the soldier is depressed. Counselor recommends a psychotropic medication ( Celexa).
As a leader, you must recognize that medications, like Celexa, Cymbalta, Zoloft, Buspar...are considered "mood altering".
The military will discharge soldiers for clinical depression and personality disorders. One single misdiagnosis could cost a soldier his entire career. The career of a good soldier could come to an end, simply because he trusted the recommendations of someone who was supposed to be helping him through his nightmare.
Almost nothing in this world is black and white, SGT. Assume nothing about your soldiers. Instead, be a mentor. Get to know them. And take the position you are in as a leader, as an opportunity to empathize with their condition, rather than mitigate it.
Sometimes, though, a soldier may not know that he or she has a problem. The soldier may feel trapped. As much as we like to brief everybody on this subject...seek help, etc., the fact remains that the stigma still exists. And not only a stigma, but actual, real-life repercussions exist.
Say, for instance, a young soldier, just back from combat, sheltered his entire life, had watched his Battle die. (Have you ever seen someone's brain ejected from their skull?) This young soldier comes back home. He watches these briefings. He thinks, "Oh god. Finally. It's okay. It's okay! I'm not by myself in this nightmare. I've dreamed about putting that pistol in my mouth. I know that I need somebody to walk me through this. My unit buddies seem to all be okay. Maybe I'm weird. Maybe I'm weak." And through his haze, maybe one of his Battles recognizes what he has seen in himself and helps the broken soldier to counseling, hoping to make him "whole" again. (Because most soldiers do NOT seek therapy on their own.)
This young soldier goes to counseling. The counselor, in paperwork, states that she feels the soldier is depressed. Counselor recommends a psychotropic medication ( Celexa).
As a leader, you must recognize that medications, like Celexa, Cymbalta, Zoloft, Buspar...are considered "mood altering".
The military will discharge soldiers for clinical depression and personality disorders. One single misdiagnosis could cost a soldier his entire career. The career of a good soldier could come to an end, simply because he trusted the recommendations of someone who was supposed to be helping him through his nightmare.
Almost nothing in this world is black and white, SGT. Assume nothing about your soldiers. Instead, be a mentor. Get to know them. And take the position you are in as a leader, as an opportunity to empathize with their condition, rather than mitigate it.
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SGT (Join to see)
If you know how UPL system working, you will not question on this matter. For every single positive test, they will consider all of prescribed medication that your PCMs and referral doctors (off post) gave them to you. Therefore, the drug that Sgt Bytnar mentioned is a recreational drug only!
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