DRUG TESTING UNDER FIRE IN AIR ACADEMY SCANDAL

DENVER -- A major drug scandal at the U.S. Air Force Academy is
highlighting concern that cadets are using illegal substances such as
Ecstasy that are difficult to detect with standard drug tests. The scandal
has prompted talk of a congressional investigation.

The investigation entered a new phase in the past week, as one cadet,
senior Stephen Pouncey, 22, was court-martialed Jan. 31 and sentenced to 42
months in military prison in Leavenworth, Kan., for using and distributing
drugs such as Ecstasy and LSD.

Sophomore Cadet Barton Duvall has been charged with taking LSD and could be
court-martialed in a hearing Wednesday. He faces up to 5 years in prison.

A third cadet resigned under pressure last month, and 11 others are under
investigation in the drug scandal, the largest ever at the academy. Nine
other cadets have been put on probation for knowing about students'
misbehavior but not telling authorities.

The scandal is "a big black eye for the academy," which trains future Air
Force officers and fighter pilots on the outskirts of Colorado Springs,
said Sarah Sheldon, spokeswoman for Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.).

"We are deeply disturbed," said academy spokesman Neil Talbott. "Our cadets
know their actions have consequences. And because of the responsibilities
we trust them with, we hold them to a higher standard."

Faced with criticism from Hefley concerning their drug-testing policies,
academy officials have promised to step up random tests and
commander-ordered tests, especially on weekends and holidays when senior
cadets tend to leave campus, Talbott said. Officials are also working to
develop more sensitive tests.

Last year, the school conducted urinalysis on about 2,600 of its 4,100
cadets. The current investigation began in October after a test showed
positive for drugs.

The scandal underscores the dangers that drugs such as Ecstasy pose to
military academies' efforts to combat drug use. Five of the 14 cadets being
investigated are believed to have used Ecstasy, according to a mid-January
briefing by academy Vice Supt. Brian Binn. Other drugs reportedly involved
include marijuana, LSD and Blue Nitro, a sleep aid and muscle builder also
known as Verve and Midnight Blue.

Since Ecstasy is flushed out of a person's system in less than a day, much
more rapidly than other illegal drugs, it is harder to discover its use
with episodic testing.

"Clearly, there's a changing dynamic out there with new drugs like Ecstasy
that are not detectable by traditional drug-testing policies," said Sean
Conway, press secretary for Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), who is on the
Armed Services Committee.

The potential for undetected abuse "is not just an Air Force Academy
problem--it's a problem for all the military academies and for the military
servicewide," Conway said.

Underscoring Allard's concern, a separate, unrelated investigation by the
Air Force in Colorado Springs is looking into the alleged use of Ecstasy,
LSD and marijuana by 15 enlisted personnel at Peterson Air Force Base and
Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station.

Allard's spokesman said the senator is worried about the lack of a uniform
drug-testing policy at the nation's three military academies--the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis,
Md., and the Air Force Academy--and may ask Congress to look into the
testing programs.

At the Air Force Academy, 35 cadets initially were investigated. Twelve
were exonerated; nine were found to have concealed information; and 14
became the main targets of the probe, which has been conducted by academy
security staff and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

At his Jan. 31 court-martial hearing, Pouncey said another cadet introduced
him to Ecstasy in May. In October, he said he tried LSD and cocaine at
clubs in Denver. After a commander requested a urinalysis on Oct. 16 and
Pouncey's results turned up positive, the cadet began cooperating with
investigators.

Drug problems crop up at all three service academies on an intermittent
basis. But in addition to the unfolding scandal at the Air Force Academy,
West Point in December began investigating four cadets who were found to
have taken a drug known as ketamine or "Special K," used primarily as an
anesthetic for large animals. Like Ecstasy, it is difficult to detect, said
West Point spokesman James Whaley.