18 SAILORS CHARGED IN NAVY DRUG INVESTIGATION

1 Sailor Involved In Inquiry Assigned To Charleston Naval Weapons Station

BY TERRY JOYCE Of The Post and Courier Staff A three-year
investigation led to drug charges against 18 sailors who were serving
on 10 nuclear vessels at naval bases from Connecticut to Hawaii, Navy
officials said, including one sailor now assigned to the Charleston
Naval Weapons Station.

The locally based sailor's name was unavailable pending final
disposition of his case, said Naval Weapons Station spokeswoman Susan
Piedfort.

The charges stem from the alleged sale and use of Ecstasy, LSD,
cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana, Navy officials told The Day
of New London, Conn., for a story in Thursday's editions.

All 18 sailors were trained to work on nuclear-powered vessels. Some
met during nuclear power training before being assigned to submarines
and aircraft carriers, the newspaper reported. It was unclear when the
arrests were made.

Piedfort said that in the spring of 1999, two years prior to the start
of an initial investigation, 13 of the 18 sailors were among the 2,500
students at the Nuclear Power Training Command school at the Naval
Weapons Station.

"We do not know which sailors may have known each other that early in
their careers," Piedfort said. "The training of all sailors to operate
nuclear propulsion plants begins at Naval Nuclear Power School (at the
weapons station)."

All of the sailors eventually left Charleston and were assigned to
nuclear-powered warships. The sailor who is at the weapons station
returned to Charleston after a tour at sea, Piedfort said. He was
assigned to one of the nuclear power training schools but subsequently
was relieved of his duties.

In a statement from Navy headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Navy
said its investigation began in August, even though initial
information was gathered in July 2001. That's when two sailors
assigned to a Connecticut-based submarine were ticketed by local
police for trespassing on Amtrak property. The police suspected drug
involvement and notified the Connecticut Statewide Narcotics Task Force.

At the request of the task force, a Naval Criminal Investigative
Service investigator questioned the two sailors, and they admitted to
illegal drug use, the Navy said. The sailors alleged that other
Groton, Conn., community and submarine force personnel also were using
or distributing drugs.

The probe led to charges against sailors on eight submarines and two
aircraft carriers as well as two shore commands. The Navy said there
was no evidence that any of the sailors used drugs while on duty.

The two years that elapsed between the Connecticut authorities'
initial probe and the Navy's investigation resulted in disciplinary
action against an undisclosed number of NCIS agents.

According to the Navy, Connecticut Statewide Narcotics Task Force
authorities expressed concerns regarding a task force member's
personal safety. An NCIS agent then decided to delay informing the
Navy chain of command in violation of Navy policy.

Nine of the sailors implicated in the drug probe have been
court-martialed with prison sentences of up to 30 months in prison and
forfeiture of as much as $3,000 in pay. Two others were kicked out of
the Navy, three are awaiting courts-martial, two are facing pretrial
hearings and two more are being kicked out of the Navy.

Ships involved in the probe included the aircraft carriers Nimitz and
Abraham Lincoln and the nuclear-powered submarines Pittsburgh,
Albuquerque, San Juan, Helena, Los Angeles, Nebraska, Kentucky and
Florida.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.