DEPLOYED SOLDIERS USED DRUGS

34 Troops Who Tested Positive Were Sent Overseas Anyway

DES MOINES, Iowa - Twenty-one Iowa National Guard troops who tested
positive for drug use on the eve of their deployment were sent overseas
anyway, despite the Army's "zero tolerance" policy. Now the Army must
decide how to deal with them when they return.

Officials at Fort McCoy, Wis., which serves as a multistate jumping-off
point for Reserve and Guard troops, said about 13 soldiers from other
states who tested positive for drugs were also sent to Iraq.

Fort McCoy officials said some of the soldiers apparently used the drugs
with the intention of getting caught and being sent home.

"On a certain level, it would be perverse to throw people out because of
their misconduct, when other people who did not engage in that misconduct
are having to put their lives on the line," said Eugene Fidell, a military
law expert with the National Institute of Military Justice.

Others who tested positive were deemed by medical officials to be
infrequent users who posed no risk to themselves or their fellow soldiers
in the field.

"A positive on their drug test is not going to keep them here, unless
there's a dependency issue," said Linda Fournier, a Fort McCoy spokeswoman.
"These units have to have so many people to go overseas."

Spokesmen for the Army and the Department of Defense told The Des Moines
Register this week that they were unaware of the problem.

The prospect of punishing troops who return after months of military
service has lawyers at Army bases pacing the hallways. Under current
policy, soldiers with three or more years of service often are discharged
for positive drug tests. Younger soldiers sometimes opt for rehabilitation
at the discretion of their commanders.

"The official policy is you don't have a whole lot of latitude," said Mark
O'Hara, a 31-year Coast Guard veteran and spokesman for the Judge Advocates
Association in Washington, D.C.

"Maybe it's going to be tough if the guy comes back a hero," Mr. O'Hara said.