HAWAI'I'S MILITARY STILL BATTLES USE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS

Testing for drugs in the military is on the rise. But while the overall
percentage of service members testing positive remains low, a growing number
of large-scale discharges -- including two in Hawai'i -- show the military
still has a ways to go in combatting drug-use problems.

In May, the Navy revealed that 23 sailors with a P-3 Orion squadron
stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i at Kane'ohe Bay were being kicked out
for illegal drug use. And earlier this month, Marine Corps officials
confirmed that they either administratively discharged or court-martialed 17
service members at Kane'ohe Bay.

"I've been here for five years, and I cannot recall in five years seeing an
incident of this proportion," said Roger O'Guin, program director of the
base's substance abuse counseling center.

The legal action and discharges of Marines come at a time of increasing
numbers of high-profile arrests for drug use across the country.

Military officials say the trend indicates that testing is improving and
that more users are being caught.

In July, the Marine Corps revealed that 82 Marines and sailors at Camp
Lejeune, N.C., had been convicted of drug use as the result of a two-year
investigation. Officials seized more than $1.4 million in drugs including
Ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine and LSD.

In June, Navy investigators arrested six petty officers aboard the San
Diego-based destroyer Stethem for alleged methamphetamine use or dealing,
and confirmed that five sailors on another San Diego-based destroyer, the
Higgins, had been dishonorably discharged for illegal drug use in May.

Navy spokesman Cmdr. Rob Newell at the time rejected suggestions that the
Pacific Fleet has a drug problem.

"These are examples of both young people getting together and making some
very bad decisions, as well as the Navy's commitment to being an
organization with zero tolerance for drug use," he said.

Tests Lead To Confessions

The Marines using Ecstasy and methamphetamine at Kane'ohe Bay were junior
grade cooks or kitchen help, officials said.

"Basically, what happens is somebody pops positive (on a urinalysis). This
is typically how we get these larger numbers," said Maj. Michael Mori, a
military justice officer and head of the base's drug prevention task force.
"Our criminal investigative division has done a really good job of then
following up that positive urinalysis with interviews, interrogations of the
people, and from that, getting several names and speaking to those Marines,
and two friends tell on two friends, and two friends tell on another two
friends."

Mori said the Marines were part of two groups, but knew each other. One or
two tested positive, and the rest confessed, he said.

Two went to "special" court-martial, which can confer a maximum penalty of a
year in the brig. Three went to "summary" court-martial, which can result in
up to 30 days in the brig, and the rest received administrative non-judicial
punishment, he said.

"There may be one or two still in the pipeline to get separated, but I
believe all of them are gone," Mori said.

Marines can be brought before a non-judicial review board and still be
retained in the service. Mori, however, says this is uncommon.

Drug use within the military dropped from about 23 percent in 1983 to 2.7
percent in 1998. Still, according to statistics compiled by the San Diego
Union-Tribune, 17,000 service personnel have been kicked out of the armed
forces since 1999 for using drugs.

The popularity of Ecstasy, which quickly leaves the system -- something some
service members count on in hopes of avoiding detection -- has been
particularly vexing for the military.

"If we see a spike in Ecstasy use in the civilian community, then we may see
it for Marines, because these youngsters go into town when they go on
liberty (and) they are out in the community," O'Guin said.

For military members, getting caught using drugs can mean severe penalties.

Two Marines at Kane'ohe Bay -- not part of the group of 17 -- were convicted
on drug charges in the spring and are serving time in the Ford Island brig,
officials said.

"You can be told by your officers or staff noncommissioned officers not to
use drugs, but I'm here in the flesh as a prime example that people still
do," said Pvt. Justin Higley, a former military police dog handler and one
of the two Kane'ohe Bay Marines in the brig.

The other, Pvt. Jonathan Dingess, a former anti-tank assaultman, is serving
time on Ecstasy-related charges, base officials said.

"I've let down so many people including myself, the Corps, and especially my
wife, who's back home about to deliver our first child," Higley told the
base newspaper Hawaii Marine. "The news shot her world down."

Dingess said growing up, he always wanted to be a Marine, and had hopes of
becoming a scout sniper or a reconnaissance Marine. "I hate this feeling,"
he told Hawaii Marine. "I worked very hard to become a Marine, and now I'm
being kicked out and won't be able to see my wife for another 10 months.
Also, my in-laws are officers in the military who have high clearances that
they need to protect, and because I have a felony, they can't associate with
me until they retire from active service."

In 2001, the Kane'ohe base had 128 discharges. This year, the base has
discharged about 95 Marines; 19 cases are still being investigated.

For fiscal 2001, the Pentagon said the percentage of active-duty personnel
testing positive for drugs stood at 1.73 percent for the Army, 1.59 percent
for the Navy, 1.61 percent for the Marines, and 0.48 percent for the Air
Force. In just under 70 percent of the positives, marijuana was the choice
of drug.

Navy-wide, 933,130 urinalysis samples were tested in fiscal 2001, compared
with 749,911 in 1998. For fiscal 2001, 6,314 sailors tested positive, and
the Navy has said it is experiencing the lowest drug usage rates in 21
years.

Drug Use Continues

But recent arrests point to an ongoing problem.

In the spring, the Navy said it was discharging 23 sailors with Patrol
Squadron 47 at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i for using drugs including cocaine,
LSD, Ecstasy, methamphetamine and marijuana. All were "fairly junior"
sailors who were support personnel or worked in maintenance, officials said.

One sailor with the unit said Navy claims of 1 percent or less drug use were
inaccurate.

"I wouldn't say that everyone is doing drugs, but it's a lot higher than the
military knows," said the sailor, who asked not to be identified. "One
percent -- it's a lot higher than that. I would say 10 to 15 percent, and
when you talk about alcohol (the abuse is even greater)."

During a six-month deployment in the Indian Ocean that began in December
2000, no drug tests were given, he said.

Navy Region Hawai'i declined to address the comments, and said it preferred
"to let the official Navy statistics speak for themselves."

Navy Region Hawai'i randomly tests 15 to 20 percent of all personnel every
month -- which is more than the 10 percent requirement, officials said.

Col. Joseph V. Medina, commanding officer of the approximately 4,000 Marines
in the 3rd Marine Regiment, tests 70 percent of those under his command.

In June, the Navy began using using screening reagents at its labs that
identify specific drugs.

The Marine Corps base at Kane'ohe Bay sends its urinalysis samples to the
Navy Drug Screening Laboratory in San Diego.

A new Defense Department policy approved July 31 calls for new minimum,
across-the-board consequences for drug use, reducing command discretion in
such cases.

At the Marine Corps base, commander Brig. Gen. Jerry C. McAbee put in place
a "single Marine and sailor program" offering weekend activities. McAbee
also brought back full contact football "to give them a healthy outlet,"
said base spokesman Maj. Chris Hughes.

But temptations remain. "Well over 50 percent of these youngsters are
intoxicated downtown at the time they use other drugs," O'Guin said. "They
drink too much, get intoxicated, and they arrest their sensibilities."

If a Marine meets a tourist who has "some Ecstasy or marijuana or whatever,"
O'Guin said, "it's much more easy for them to just think, 'Aw, it's only
once,' and then they come back to a urinalysis test, and their life is
drastically altered."