Army cracks down as drug, alcohol cases rise

Army cracks down as drug, alcohol cases rise
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 8, 2009 5:32:09 EDT

Drug and alcohol abuse in the ranks is on the rise, and Army officials say commanders are largely to blame for failing to take control of the situation.

Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli issued commanders across the service a message directing them to do a better job of getting offenders into treatment or separated from the Army.

Chiarelli is leading an Army-wide crackdown on violations and placed renewed emphasis on reporting requirements. That could mean increased inspections of barracks rooms and more visits by leaders to soldiers’ off-post homes to make cursory evaluations of their living conditions.



Soldiers can expect stricter disciplinary action for positive urine analysis results and a possible wave of separations for soldiers who have a pattern of substance abuse after receiving help, Army leaders said. The requirement to randomly test 16 percent of a company’s soldiers each month and as directed by commanders will remain unchanged.

Col. Tom James, 3rd ID chief of staff, cited the case of a master sergeant who had an incident involving alcohol. A look into his record revealed he had no previous offenses, but had deployed three times and gone through nine roadside bomb incidents. They said they got him the help he needed.

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This is not a bad thing. It's good they are paying attention and getting them into help.