Drug Demand Reduction Program: Don’t play Russian roulette with your career

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Using illegal drugs is an effective way to end your Air Force career.

Kenneth White, the Elmendorf Drug Demand Reduction Program Manager, said the Air Force has a zero tolerance policy in place for people who abuse drugs. In his 10 years working in the base drug program, he has seen many careers destroyed by drugs.

He believes the strength of his program is the unpredictability of when people are called in to provide a sample for drug testing. People who feel like they can use illegal drugs, because they found a pattern in the system, are only asking for trouble. He said this thinking leads to a common scenario that he has seen too many times.

"Some people get comfortable and feel like since they haven't been called in years that they are safe, then boom, they get a notice that they have to go and provide a sample," he said. "Anybody that uses drugs is playing Russian roulette with their career."

One factor that leads to the unpredictability of the program is that a computer program selects the people that need to be tested.

Jennifer Sheets, a drug test program administrative manager here, said that she doesn't know what she will be doing on any given day until she walks into her office and checks the program. If a day is not selected as a testing day, she gets the opportunity to catch up on her paperwork. Eight days a month are required to be testing days, but since Elmendorf has a quota of 423 tests a month, the base tests an average of 14 days a month to avoid congestion.

Ms. Sheets said that offenders never feel like they will be caught until it actually happens.
"They feel like they are invincible and they won't get caught," she said. "They don't see the long term problems like losing their friends, family and their career."

People who test one day are just as likely as anyone else to test the following day as well.

"If my name is selected to test today, as soon as I walk out of here, I'm eligible to get called back and tested again tomorrow," said Mr. White. "The program never places anyone in a no-testing category. Everybody from the lowest ranking Airman on base to the highest ranking general is in that pool of names to be tested."

The Elmendorf numbers for positive drug tests have fluctuated wildly over the last few years.

In fiscal year 2008 there were 37 positive drug results. In fiscal year 2009 there was a sharp decline with only five cases, which is the lowest number Mr. White has seen in his time with the program. So far in fiscal year 2010, there has been an uptick in numbers again with nine people testing positive so far. Cocaine and marijuana are the two most common drugs that lead to positive results. Abuse of prescription medications has been on the rise as well and is the third highest rated offender.

"It's unfortunate that people are putting this into their bodies," said Mr. White. "Our program was never meant to catch people. It's deterrence, but how it is set up and constructed if someone does drugs they will eventually get caught."

White said that since a career can hang in the balance with the outcome of a drug test, his staff handles samples with an extremely high attention-to-detail

"We have a 35-step checklist that we have to follow," he said. "If one thing on that list is not done correctly the sample is sent back as not fit to be tested."

Steps are in place for when a sample tests positive. A medical review process ensures that the member was not prescribed anything that could have caused the positive drug test.

Ms. Sheets said that the program is important because military members have to be held to a higher standard than their civilian counterparts. She believes that regardless of what someone's job is, if they are not performing at their peak, it could lead to a serious breakdown in the Air Force's capability.

"Everybody plays a part in this Air Force," she said. "We all need to be able to do our jobs. This program keeps us all safe and capable of defending our nation."