NAVY TO TIGHTEN CONTROL OF PILLS

WASHINGTON -- Amid allegations that amphetamine ``go pills'' might have
played a role in the mistaken bombing of Canadian troops in Afghanistan
last April by an Illinois Air National Guard pilot, the Navy is moving to
tighten controls on the use of such medications among its aviators. The
action, expected within a few weeks, comes just two years after the
fatigue-fighting pills were authorized for Navy fliers. Service records
indicate that pilots have been prescribed the drugs on just three of the
thousands of flights flown worldwide during that span.

The pills -- generally a 5 milligram dose of the amphetamine Dexedrine --
have never been used by a Navy pilot operating from an aircraft carrier,
the records say. Instead, the jolt provided by caffeinated coffee, tea or
cola drinks apparently remains the Navy's stimulant of choice.

The new restrictions, according to an official who spoke on condition of
anonymity, will specify that an aviator must have the permission of his or
her air wing commander to receive a prescription for Dexedrine. That
officer, typically a captain, is one rung higher on the chain of command
than the squadron commanders who now have authority over use of the
medication in their units.

A Navy spokesman declined comment on the pending rule change, which
apparently was in the works before this month's Air Force hearing on the
National Guard case.

In that incident, four Canadians died and eight others were wounded when
Illinois Guard Maj. Harry Schmidt dropped a 500-pound bomb on their squad
during a night training exercise on a range near Kandahar.

Schmidt and his flight commander, Maj. William Umbach, have testified that
they believed muzzle flashes from the Canadians' weapons were fire directed
at their F-16s. Despite an air controller's order to ``hold fire,'' Schmidt
- -- with Umbach's assent -- decided to respond to the perceived attack.
Seconds after the bomb was released, the pilots received word that the
targeted troops were ``friendlies.''

The two aviators are charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated
assault and dereliction of duty. After a preliminary hearing that concluded
Thursday at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, a military judge is
considering whether to order a court-martial.

Schmidt and Umbach could each receive up to 64 years in prison if convicted.

Their defense has focused in part on their use of Dexedrine and whether it
may have clouded their judgment. The defense contends that the pilots'
commanders ordered use of the pills, with disciplinary action threatened if
they refused.

The Air Force has considerable experience with Dexedrine, which by some
accounts has been in routine use since the Vietnam War. In one survey of
464 pilots involved in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, 58 percent reported
taking stimulants occasionally during the fighting, and 17 percent said
they were regular users.

Sixty-one percent of those who took the pills called them ``essential to
mission accomplishment.''

Military pilots also have access to prescription sleeping aids -- ``no go
pills'' -- to help them rest between missions. Regulations prohibit the
aviators from even carrying those medications while flying.

The military's regulated use of stimulants and sleeping aids contrasts with
practices in commercial aviation. Federal Aviation Administration rules
include strict limits on flying time and rest requirements between
assignments. The rules do not mention specific medications, but an FAA
spokeswoman said every civilian pilot must obtain a doctor's certificate of
his or her fitness to fly and a list of all prescription and
over-the-counter medications.

The spokeswoman said each certificate is reviewed to determine if the
medications could affect the pilot's performance.

Keith Rosenkranz, a Texan who flew F-16s during the Gulf War and later
wrote a book about the experience called ``Vipers In The Storm,'' said the
``adrenaline of combat'' was enough stimulus to keep him alert during
wartime missions. He took Dexedrine only to help him endure the 16-hour
flight from his U.S. base to the Middle East, he said.

``I took seven of them and I'm glad of it,'' he said. The pills not only
helped him battle fatigue, but they also let him avoid the most unpleasant
side effect fighter pilots associate with the use of caffeine.

Because their aircraft aren't equipped with rest rooms, or even enough
space to stand, pilots who rely on caffeinated drinks to help them stay
awake also must bear the indignity that goes with frequent use of the
``piddle packs'' provided for in-flight relief of their bladders.

Both the Air Force and Navy require testing of a pilot's tolerance for
Dexedrine before it is prescribed. An aviator who receives the medicine is
given only enough for a particular mission and is required to return unused
pills when the mission is over.

Use of the medication is supposed to be voluntary, though a consent form
used by both services warns pilots who decline a flight surgeon's
recommendation to take it that they may be deemed unfit to fly.

The form also says that a pilot who refuses the medication cannot be punished.

Dexedrine as prescribed for military pilots ``serves to increase alertness,
focus attention and improve concentration,'' said Navy Capt. Dwight Fulton,
an official in the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The 5 milligram dose,
which can be repeated every two hours as needed up to a maximum of 30
milligrams over 24 hours, is enough to stimulate a pilot without triggering
side effects, he said.

The military's consent form warns pilots that prolonged use of larger doses
of Dexedrine can trigger insomnia, various gastrointestinal problems and
high blood pressure, among other ailments.