'Go' Pills for F-16 Pilots Get Close Look

Amphetamines Prescribed in Mission That Killed Canadians

Washington -- The Air Force calls them "go" pills, and that is what
they do: keep pilots going in the air long after their tired minds and
bodies would have preferred to fall asleep.

The stimulants have been used by airmen since World War II, and were
doled out by the thousands in the Persian Gulf War and Afghanistan.
But the practice is coming under new scrutiny in the investigation of
two F-16 pilots who were taking Air Force-provided amphetamines when
they mistook a midnight training exercise for hostile fire and bombed
a gathering of Canadian soldiers.

Four Canadians were killed in the April incident, and eight others
were wounded. The Air Force has taken the unprecedented step of
pursuing criminal charges against the pilots, Majs. Harry Schmidt and
William Umbach, each of whom faces up to 64 years in prison.

But if the case proceeds beyond a preliminary hearing scheduled for
Jan. 13,

the Air Force could find many of its own practices also on trial,
including its distribution of drugs that are banned in commercial aviation.

A lawyer for one of the pilots said this week that he intends to argue
that the airmen's judgments were impaired by their repeated use of
amphetamines prescribed by Air Force doctors in Afghanistan -- drugs,
he said, that would cost the pilots their jobs if they were caught
using them behind the wheel of a car instead of in the cockpit of an
F-16.

"Were these pilots' perceptions affected by their use of
dextroamphetamine? I don't know," said Charles Gittins, a Virginia
attorney and former Navy flight officer representing the pilot who
dropped the bomb on the Canadians. "But we're going to present it and
let the (court) decide."

PROBE BLAMES PILOTS

A Pentagon investigation of the bombing ruled out the use of
stimulants as a factor, concluding instead that the pilots were guilty
of "reckless" behavior and had violated rules of engagement.

Experts say Gittins could have a hard time connecting the pilots'
fateful mistake to the influence of a relatively small dose of
dextroamphetamine. And even he acknowledges that the drugs aren't at
the heart of his case.

Instead, he said, the accidental bombing was the result of a series of
breakdowns, including the failure of the Air Force to notify the two
pilots, both members of the Illinois National Guard, that there were
training exercises in the area.

But the high level of attention surrounding the unusual case already
is calling attention to the Air Force's little-known drug policies.
Some say that if the Air Force were forced to change those policies,
it also would change the nature of its pilots' missions.

Many in the service see the use of stimulants as a prerequisite for
the night-long fighter patrols and transoceanic bombing runs that are
mainstays of the modern aerial campaign.

USE OF PILLS VOLUNTARY

"They're used because pilots are sometimes required to fly missions
that exceed 10 to 12 hours," said Col. Alvina Mitchell, an Air Force
spokeswoman. "Or they're (used for) missions that are scheduled during
time when pilots would ordinarily be sleeping."

Mitchell stressed that use of the pills is voluntary, safe and
monitored closely by Air Force surgeons.

The Air Force has never attributed a crash or other accident to the
use of stimulants, she said. By contrast, she said, "fatigue has been
cited as a contributing cause in nearly 100 mishaps."

The military has a long and uneasy history of experimenting with
stimulants as a means of enhancing the performance or endurance of its
fighters. Histories of World War II indicate widespread use by German
and American soldiers.

But pilots' use of amphetamines expanded dramatically during the 1991
Persian Gulf War, when pilots struggled to adapt to that conflict's
largely nocturnal schedule.

Fliers were given "go" pills to keep them awake for night-time
missions, and "no go" pills, or sedatives, to help them sleep through
the din and desert sun on base during the day.

Surveys show that roughly half of American fighter pilots took
amphetamines during the Desert Storm campaign. Some commanders were so
alarmed by many pilots' growing addiction to the pills that they
ordered their subordinates not to use them.

The drug distributed by the Air Force is commonly known by its brand
name Dexedrine. It is primarily used to treat hyperactivity in
children and narcolepsy, a disorder in which patients fall asleep
suddenly. The drug is produced by GlaxoSmithKline, based in the United
Kingdom.

The company's literature warns that the drug has a "high potential for
abuse" and "may impair the ability of the patient to engage in
potentially hazardous activities such as operating machinery or vehicles."

But experts on the use of amphetamines say the drugs are effective and
generally safe when administered carefully. One likened the small
doses distributed by the Air Force to cups of coffee.

The pilots each had been in Afghanistan for more than a month before
the strike, according to an investigation of the incident by U.S.
Central Command.

Both "had complained about the 24-hour nature of the operations,"
Centcom's report said. "Both . . . had been prescribed 'go' and 'no
go' pills for use in combating fatigue and in adjusting to the new
time zones in the deployed region."

FEAR OF ATTACK

Each had taken a dose during the flight, in which Schmidt saw what he
described as "fireworks" as they passed south of Kandahar.

The flashes were coming from Canadian troops engaged in a live-fire
exercise at a former al Qaeda training compound. But Schmidt and
Umbach believed they were under attack.

Schmidt, who taught at the Navy's elite "Top Gun" fighter pilot
school, asked permission to strafe the ground with his cannon. He was
told to hold fire and stand by, but instead he moved lower. After
further flashes, he said he was "rolling in in self-defense" and, with
a call of "bombs away," released a 500-pound, laser-guided munition.

A moment later, a ground commander warned that "Kandahar has
friendlies" and to get the F-16s "out of there." By then it was too
late.

Schmidt and Umbach both have been charged with four counts of
manslaughter and eight counts of assault -- the first time such
charges have been leveled against pilots for actions in wartime. The
hearing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana is to determine
whether they will face court-martial.