What usually happens to a Soldier who fails urinalysis?

Doing drugs and serving our nation are contradicting to each other. You owe it to your country to be your very best. I hope it’s a one time mistake and you can recover from it. There is no greater privilege than serving our nation. Never forget that.

PFC (Join to see) During my civilian career, we had random drug tests, and our phone calls and internet use were monitored. Everyone knew the rules but we had many folks fired for drug use or going to the wrong internet site. There were no second chances. Learn from this and other mistakes and do not make the same mistake twice.

I am certain that you have been briefed......since joining the Army.......that the US Military is a ZERO TOLERANCE organization for drug use. It does not matter if it is legal for the State, it is still illegal for FEDERAL.

I do no know what normally happens to NG Soldiers that pop hot, but I can tell you that the Reserves and Active Duty will put boot to your ass out the door.....after they lighten up your chest of rank, lighten up your wallet of pay, and lighten up your list of benefits you get to keep.

IF you are only demoted but still retained by the Guard.....know that you have screwed the pooch in a manner that you will have to work 20 times as hard to prove your worth and gain that trust back that you decided to puff away. I mean, you violated policy, regulation, and laws. I am not sure why you would expect a light punishment coming your way.

In Basic in 1984, my CO was relieved of Command for a positive for marijuana.

We had an AF MSgt (E-7) who was on terminal leave. He decided to get froggy and smoke some weed. His leadership apparently suspected or was tipped to his usage and called him in for a piss test. They took a stripe and took some pay. Expensive weed!

On active duty in the Marines 1980's and 1990's... The norm for a Marine who was not a problem child:
_30 Days confinement in the Brig,
_Reduction to E-1
_forfeiture of all pay and allowances,
_Good of the Service Discharge under other than honorable circumstances

For the Problem Child:
_6 months Confinement
_Reduction to E-1
_forfeiture of all pay and allowances
_Bad Conduct Discharge.

Here, I just learned this in a briefing about the drug policy/program.

BEFORE the random test names are pulled you need to report yourself to your chain of command for entry into the Army's Drug Rehab program. That's your window to correct yourself. You can't play that card if the list of test names has already been compiled.

So, if you lit up a few days before drill, that's your window to notify your chain of command, they will enroll you in the program, and your name will be excluded from FUTURE test lists. Not CURRENT ones.

If you wait till the morning formation chances are you are out of luck.

Also............. folks might already know............ prior to CV-19 the training OPTEMPO with all sorts of higher directed exercises, extended AT, ADVON, etc.... my unit pretty much did a Test at any moment we had a breather at our home garrison just so we would meet our random test numbers.

What's going to happen when things start to get back to normal. Piss tests and PT formations and ACFT tests. That's what we are looking forward to in the USAR/NG when we start meeting in person again.

1st recommendation: Don't smoke pot

2nd: do you really expect them to go light on your punishment? its a field grade article 15 and a general discharge but ive seen people get OTH discharges for it. The 1 guy that ive seen retained in the army tested positive by being in the same car as someone who had smoked earlier. He still got a field grade, lost rank, and his clearance was pulled.

Moral of the story is you aren't better than any of the soldiers who actually followed the rules. don't smoke and you wouldnt be in this position.

Here’s a kicker for everyone to ponder. Even though I am no longer in the Marine Corps. I work for a company called ArcelorMittal USA, Inc. It is a steel manufacturer , i’ve worked for them for 12 years and I’ve noticed that every year my name will always come up to go get a random drug test, the first year my name came up four times in one year! after that it came up once a year every year regardless of what department I work in. So after about the eighth year I started feeling picked on, so when I reported to the Company clinic I asked the security guy that was prepping me for a urinalysis why am I always getting chosen for random drug test? I told him tibstop feeling random about three years prior, so he looked around to see if anybody else was around and he stepped in a little bit closer to where I was sitting and he said it is because you have always pass your test every year so we know you were going to pass. They try to identify all those they know who are clean because it’s easier for them and the paperwork, plus a lot of times they feel really bad about somebody failing the test because they know it will mean an end to their employment and their families will suffer. So unless someone is blatantly reported to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol they try to avoid catching anyone that might have smoked marijuana over the weekend for fun so they choose all the people they know that will pass turn the numbers in to the company and it’s business as usual. They forget the fact that people like me are working next to people like those under the influence operating heavy industrial machines and equipment and how they can injure and kill someone while under the influence. But the guy said they appreciate people like me willing to go through it and not complain which would make them actually have to go test the real people that are under the influence and probably will lose their livelihood. So all those in the military dumb enough to smoke weed you deserve what you get I have no sympathy for anyone willingly putting others in jeopardy because you want to feel good and be stoned out of your mind.