BARKSDALE TO BEGIN DRUG TESTING AT GATES

SHREVEPORT (AP) - Barksdale Air Force Base will begin random drug
screenings of soldiers who pass through its gates.

A new program at the base, Operation Nighthawk, will randomly select
active duty personnel of all ranks to take a urinalysis test when
entering or leaving the base, said Col. Jerry Owen, commander of the
base's medical group and the man responsible for the testing portion
of the base's Drug Demand Program.

The random screenings will help detect drugs that might otherwise be
flushed out of a person's system in a couple of days.

"There are some of these drugs more problematic to test for," he
said.

There is no set date for the program to begin, Owen said, but the base
currently has a random testing program in which 65 percent of the
base's active duty population is tested annually. But drugs such as
ecstasy are taken over the weekend, it can potentially be flushed out
of the body within a couple of days.

"We don't believe we have a significant drug problem, but this has to
do with an overall Air Force program to deter folks from getting
involved in a nightclub drug activity," he said.

After being issued a drug testing form at the gate, a person will have
15 minutes to report to the base's 2nd Medical Clinic. If they don't
show, their commander will be notified and handle the situation, Owen
said.

Owen said the testing is aimed at "our youngsters. They go out and get
talked in to doing something."

The program will give people second thoughts about using illegal
substances and then trying to drive onto base, said 2nd Lt. Jim Ivie
of the 2nd Bomb Wing.

"Getting picked out of a line and tested certainly is a deterrent to
people," he said. "I think certainly anytime you launch a program like
this, there's more awareness built up about it.

"This is something that's not tolerated in the Air Force. It makes
people think twice when they're downtown."

There will be no warning of testing times or dates.

"We want to advertise it because we don't want people experimenting
with drugs," Owen said.

If a person is caught with drugs in their system, and if they don't
have a medical excuse to take certain drugs, they could face
counseling to jail time.