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The United States military has prescribed amphetamines to their pilots for many years. The use of such “performance enhancing drugs” is certainly not a subject that the military wants as widespread public knowledge. However, deadly accidents overseas, recently, has drawn much media attention. As a result, when the information became public, the military was forced to quickly to defend the administration of amphetamine drugs to pilots.

Disaster in the Bombing- The Bombing

F-16 plane that was involved in the deadly bombings

On April 16, 2002 at 5:25 Eastern time, Air National Guard pilots, Harry Schmidt and William Umbach, were flying an F-16 on regular patrol over Kandahar in Afghanistan. While on the pass over, one pilot believed to see a ground fire below and immediately believed it was an enemy attack. Even with the pilot’s request to fire denied by the air controllers, the pilots felt they were under attack and released their bomb, with the belief that they were acting in their own self-defense. The 500-pound laser guided bomb was dropped on Canadian troops resulting in the death of four soldiers and injury of eight others. The troops that the airmen fired on were Canadian soldiers at a training exercise held on a former al-Qaeda camp, just ten miles from Kandahar’s airport. Though the Canadian officials were positive that American forces were notified, the Pentagon said it was “unclear” of as to why both the pilots and the controllers were not aware of the training the Canadians were carrying out .

The Militaries Dangerous Push to Keep Pilots in the Air

The Push to Extend Pilots time in the Air

With pilots operating huge, expensive pieces of aircraft, an immense amount of skill and concentration is needed for the operations to run seamlessly. The only safe way to allow the pilots to work at such a high level is when they are well rested; however, the military still attempts to extend the pilots time in the air, making each mission more dangerous than the one before, as pilots continue to fly on less and less sleep. Pilots have reported experiencing exhaustion, which is inevitable when the “common-sense” rule, of twelve hours between missions is continuously ignored .

The Militaries Manipulation of Drugs

As the two American pilots responsible for the deadly bombing were put on trial, the effects of the amphetamines on the pilots, “state-of-mind” would ultimately determine whether the pilots were responsible for the incident. Though the use of the drug Dexedrine, an amphetamine, was never forced upon the military pilots, it was strongly suggested, with the threat of not being able fly if the drug was not taken. The military surgeons were allowed to prescribe the medication, U.S. Air Force rules say, “the drug is supposed to be used for long transoceanic transport flights, not combat missions,”. As use continued, the side effects of “go-pills” had to be opposed by “no-pills,” sedatives used to allow the pilots to actually rest. As the usage continued, “there was a concern in some squadrons that the pilots were becoming psychologically, if not physically, addicted to the pills,” to get in their desired stage either awake or asleep. Also, further concerns of the use of the drug emerged just a week after the medication was prescribed when the Canadian troops were killed in the desert. Research has revealed that pilots regularly receiving amphetamines have been “responsible for at least 10 deadly ‘friendly fire’ accidents in the Afghanistan war,”.

Perspectives

As information continued to be made public about the deadly incident, the usage of drugs, and the connection to the pilots involved, professionals in many different field of study began to formulate their own opinions.

Military Doctors

Military doctors played a huge role in the entire incident, prescribing and administering the amphetamine Dexedrine to the military pilots. Air Force physicians argued, “fatigue, not ‘speed’ kills,” . During the two pilots hearing at an Air Force Base in Louisiana, pilot physicians also explained that for nearly 60 years the Air Force had used stimulants, claiming the drugs work better than coffee because not only do they keep the pilots awake, but also increases pilots alertness . Doctors claimed that needing to take uppers to stay awake is a “life-and-death issue for [the] military” . As a result, military doctors continue to support their decisions, since fatigue is a major danger. Ultimately, military doctors must assess whether, the possible side effects of amphetamines or the inevitable, risk of fatigue, are more probable. With more numerous deadly accidents in recent history due to fatigue than the use of “uppers” they concluded that the medicine is the safest bet to keeping pilots safe in the air .

Pilots who have take Amphetamine Drugs

Another very different viewpoint of the entire issue is that of pilots who have experienced the effects of the amphetamine drugs while in the cockpit. Admiral Eugene Carroll is a retired vice president of the Center of Defense Information, serving in World War II on aircraft carriers. During carrier landings, Carroll was administered “go-drugs” to increase his alertness, allowing him to experience the “real” side-effects, both short and long term, a patient would experience with regular use. Carroll believes the major issue is “if the pilots are pushed so hard they have to take these drugs on a regular basis, they are going to get stressed out and have an unsafe result,” .

Doctors outside of the Military

The final, different perspective of the event is from experts in the field of medicine outside of the military. One such expert in the field of drug addictions, Dr. Robert DuPont, was astonished when he learned that the United States Air Force used amphetamines. Contrary to what the military claimed, DuPont said, “This is speed. This is where we got the phrase, speed kills,”. Not only is speed or amphetamines a potentially deadly drug but such “go pills” are highly addictive. What may be even more astonishing about the drug is that it is in the same category as cocaine, being listed by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule Two narcotic, and no matter the dosage, the FDA has never approved it to fight fatigue . Another doctor, Joyce A. Walsleben, of New York University School of Medicine, where she is the director of the Sleep Disorder Centre, also sees the concerns with using amphetamines. She explained that when an individual has a prolonged usage of Dexedrine, the primary drug the Air Force used, the individual will build tolerance to the drug, necessitating increased dosages to feel the wanted effects. Such practices and regular drug cycle greatly increases the level of addictive tendencies, making “the threat of abuse and addiction higher with Dexedrine,” .

The Outcome

Major Harry Schmidt and his wife on the way to his hearing

Both pilots’, Harry Schmidt and William Umbach’s, attorneys’ were out to prove that the amphetamines that both had received had impaired their judgment. If they could prove this it would show that it was not directly the pilots who made the wrong decision but instead the effect of the medication that altered their state-of-mind enough for the accident to have occurred. The pilots had reportedly taken Dexedrine before the mission, which is what the lawyers are ultimately blaming was the cause of the deaths. Though both men were originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, Umbach’s charges were dropped entirely and Schmidt only faced dereliction of duty in the end both trials .

The Use of Amphetamines

Amphetamines were originally discovered in the 19th century to treat asthma and other breathing disorders. The use of the drug to stimulate the central nervous system enough to function as both pep and diet pills became popular in the 1930s. In the present day, they are used primarily to treat narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder, and on occasion have been used to treat depression. With the drugs ability to keep the body going when it would otherwise be asleep, the drug has been used by many athletes and coaches to allow and individuals to perform to their optimum level .

Drug Warnings

Though the drug was prescribed to the pilots it had many side effects that would not be desirable in the cockpit. The Drug Enforcement Agency warned that many serious side effects could result from taking the amphetamine such as Dexedrine. The problems can range from psychotic behavior, depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression, violent behavior, confusion, insomnia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances, and delusions . In addition, GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Dexedrine, released separate warnings about the drug. They advice against the use of heavy machinery and engagement in potentially hazardous activities should be avoided while on the drug. Though the medication came with such severe warnings, pilots involved reported they were never told any of the many warnings that were released about Dexedrine, which could have potentially been harmful to either themselves or others .

See Also

• Tarnak Farm incident
• Amphetamine
• Dextroamphetamine

Further Reading

• Military Article
• Facebook Page of Tarnak Farm Incident

External Links

• Military Blog
• Canadian Bomb