Pubdate: Thu, 13 Dec 2007
Source: Daily Record (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/111
Author: Keith Mcleod
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

ARMY DRUGS BLITZ NAILS 769 SOLDIERS

THE Army kicked out 769 soldiers caught abusing drugs last year, 
according to figures.

The total - almost equivalent to a battalion - is a jump of nearly 50 
per cent in three years.

Cocaine use among soldiers has soared by four times in that period.

The Record obtained the figures which will be published tomorrow in 
the respected Journal of the Royal United Services Institute.

The Army's "zero-tolerance" policy means any soldier who fails a 
drugs test is normally booted out.

But some experts are calling for a rethink.

Last night, a Scots former sergeant major said: "Soldiers now have 
Afghanistan or Iraq looming on the horizon.

"For some, failing a drugs test can be the quickest and easiest 
option to get out. I believe many of these positive tests are for that reason.

"The Army is well rid of these types.

"But I also believe that if a committed, professional soldier, who 
may have taken drugs stupidly through peer pressure fails tests, it 
may not be so straightforward.

"It would be madness to kick out dedicated professionals who the Army 
knows can do a job."

Defence analyst Christianne Tipping said: "The issue of an increasing 
number of drug-related discharges at a time when recruitment and 
retention are problematic needs to be examined by the MoD.

"They need to be sure the near zero tolerance approach still 
constitutes the best way of managing the problem."

Yesterday, an Army spokeswoman said: "We were the first of the 
services to introduce compulsory testing in 1996.

"Since then the sensitivity of the tests has continued to improve.

"We are now at the level of drugs testing for athletes and everything 
will show up in the tests, whether it is illegal or prescribed."

Last month, we revealed that 17 soldiers had tested positive for cocaine.

The men from the 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the 
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, were tested in Cancun, Mexico. 
They had been on exercise in Belize.
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