Navy: No second chances for drug users, alcohol abusers

NAPLES, Italy — The Navy’s message on drug use and alcohol abuse is clear: no second chances.

With the service drawing down its forces, and no worries over meeting retention and recruiting goals, the Navy can afford to be picky about the quality of sailors it keeps around, officials said.

They’re weeding out the “fungus” that threatens to infect the service’s “garden of beautiful flowers,” said Lt. Cmdr. Tony Kapuschansky, officer-in-charge of the Norfolk, Va.-based Center for Personal Development Detachment, Drug and Alcohol Program Management Activity.

Commanding officers not only are giving the boot to those who violate anti-drug use and alcohol abuse polices, but they’re doing so in the quickest and cheapest way possible — through the administrative separation process, Kapuschansky said.

That means commanding officers have the discretion to forego lengthier and costlier courts-martial, in order to expedite a sailor’s removal.

“Where’s the justice in that?” Kapuschansky said. “The justice is: how would you like to stand watch with someone who was high?”

Sailors seem to be aware that they stand to lose so much — a guaranteed income, housing allowance, and health care benefits — if they violate policies, Kapuschansky said.

Navy officials report a steady decrease in the number of sailors testing positive for drugs, even as the number of tests has risen. In fiscal 2001, of the 799,537 samples taken, 6,251 yielded positive results. In the first seven months of fiscal 2005, nearly 1.4 million samples yielded 3,841 positive results.

Marijuana is the most popular abused drug, accounting for 55 percent of the positive hits, followed by cocaine at 21 percent, methamphetamine at 19 percent, Ecstasy at 3 percent and other drugs at 2 percent.

Youth is no excuse for violating the rules, Kapuschansky said. If an 18- or 19-year-old sailor, for example, can be trusted to man multi-million dollar weapon systems, he or she can be trusted to follow drug and alcohol policies.

Alcohol is a legal substance, but sailors are expected to drink responsibly and never drive after drinking, he said at this week’s Navy Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention summit at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. NADAP officials are taking the Navy message to the fleet in a series of summits held globally.

The policy itself isn’t new, just officials’ repetition of the message, said Tim Suich, Navy Personnel Command’s legal representative.

The target population of possible drug users in the Navy has been defined as males who are E-3 and below, have 2½ years of service or less, are 19 to 22 years of age, with an average of 14 to 24 months onboard their first duty station, and are nonwarfare qualified, according to Navy documents.

But they aren’t the only violators, and even senior sailors should beware, Suich warned. There is no such thing as “sanctuary” for those with 18 to 20 years of service behind them, and the days of commanders turning a blind eye or cutting a break to “lifers” are over, he said.

The warning sits just fine with Petty Officer 1st Class Herb Scott, the drug-and-alcohol prevention representative for his Naples unit of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, or NCTAMS.

“When I first came in, there seemed to be a lot of dead weight,” said the sailor with 12 years in. “Now, they’re not just letting anyone in and that’s a good thing. Now we have people who take care of their responsibilities, do their jobs … and others don’t have to pick up their slack.”

When I joined the Navy in 1977 I really had hopes in making it a career. My father was a WWII Battleship veteran and nothing would make him more proud than to follow in his footsteps. The salt was in our families blood going way back to a distant relative who captained a British ship before the American revolution. How shocked I was at the quality of the Jimmy Carter Navy. I have never seen so many druggies, thieves, acholics, and insubordinate A-holes in my life. And they got rid of the great Cracker Jack uniforms (Regan restored them a few years later). Carters Navy slashed my dreams of sailing the high seas like my father. Things got better under Reagan, But by the time he became president my mind was made up.

I joined in 1976. Don't lay this one squarely on Jimmy. Don't get me wrong he was a horrible POTUS but I think your memory is a little off on a few things related to timelines.

In very early 1977 all the conditions you listed were true. But who was the previous Sec of Defense? Was it not actually Rummy?

I went onboard my ship in early Febuary 1977. Not one single Bosuns whistle was heard. Not at the yards, NOB, or anywhere from any ship. In late 79 they were Navy wide loud and clear. Morale in 77 was zilch and discipline was a joke as well. Yea I remember the crappy dress blue uniform too. But I got out in October of 1980.

A couple of months before I got out in 80 our divison officer pulled a sea bag inspection. I did not have my Cracker Jacks and had done sent my old issued uniform home as I was under 60 days to EAOS and we were still in overhaul in Portsmouth. I had to buy a uniform and it was the cracker jack because I still have it.

From late 79 on through my seperation the division retention chief taunted me with re-enlistment incentives. I was offered MM2, $15,000 and reduced sea rotation if I would sign up again. Also keep in mind that in 1977 all you had to do to get out was walk away for 30 days and report in elsewhere for a discharge. Remember that? Carter ended that as well. You got a BCD, plus you had to do you AWOL and remaining service time as well. If you did decide you made a mistake in most cases an enlistment extension after you got squared away would earn your your Honorable DC again.

Carter's Navy was by no means a piece of cake but the man did in fact start the process of change that Reagan built upon. It was Carter who had Fleet Reserve Chiefs volunteer to return ifrom late 79 on and restore morale, tradition, and discipline. My last chief was such. He came onboard in mid 80.

As bad as things got at times we never missed a deployment, we never flunked INSURV, ORE, PEB, or failed Light Offs. Remember also the physical requirements? How about mandatory drug testing? That started under Carter also. Been there did that. I remember that also.

I was on the east coast out of NORVA. Sorry but placing the entire blame on the 70's Navy woes on Carter is like placing the blame for the USS AMERICA being conventional on Sec of Defense McNamara. It just wasn't so as these conditions in both cases existed before they took over.

I'm not flaming you and don't mean it that way at all. I'm just saying what happened. I was shipboard from Feb 77-Oct 80 ships company. I remember the good and the bad. I remember manpower shortages and shortages in some supplies. I remember canceled schools also. But we stayed mission ready through it all.

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