SOLDIERS FAILING DRUG TESTS - SOURCE

Soldiers are being sent home from the task force that will head to
Afghanistan in February, but the military won't say if their departure
has anything to do with failed drug tests.

One source told The Chronicle Herald that soldiers have been kicked
off Task Force 1-07 for failing drug tests. But military officials
refused to confirm or deny the motivation behind the removals.

"As part of the normal process there are some soldiers going back to
their units, either permanently or temporarily," Lt. Carole Brown of
army public affairs said Tuesday.

"But we can't confirm whether or not this was the result of the drug
testing."

Soldiers get sent back to their home units for a variety of reasons,
ranging from family problems to injury, she said.

"With regard to the drug testing, until they've got all the results
back and all the decisions are made, we can't discuss partial results
or the actions taken," Lt. Brown said.

Sources told the Fredericton Gleaner last week that between 16 and 18
per cent of Afghanistan-bound soldiers tested recently at Canadian
Forces Base Gagetown, N.B., were found to have traces of illegal
substances in their systems. Marijuana, cocaine, speed and even heroin
were among the drugs discovered, the newspaper reported.

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor told reporters last week that the
army was going to give troops who tested positive for drugs a second
or even a third chance to clean up their act so they could be sent to
Afghanistan.

If a soldier tests positive twice for drugs, they will be sent for
counselling, the retired brigadier-general said at the time.

"If they correct their ways, then they're available for deployment
later on," O'Connor said.

More than 2,000 soldiers will take part in Task Force 1-07, the
military contingent heading to Afghanistan in February.

Some 900 troops based in Atlantic Canada are slated to be deployed to
Afghanistan's war-torn Kandahar region in early 2007. About 250 of
them are reservists from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and
Prince Edward Island.

The remaining troops are coming from Edmonton and CFB Petawawa,
outside Ottawa.

The bulk of the task force is now training in Wainwright, Alta.

Mandatory urine testing, known as "safety-sensitive testing," began in
late September for troops deploying to Afghanistan early next year.

The military has said troops caught with illegal drugs in their
systems won't face charges. But they could face administrative
penalties ranging from a verbal reprimand to release from the Canadian
Forces.