ARMY DRUGS BLITZ NAILS 769 SOLDIERS

THE Army kicked out 769 soldiers caught abusing drugs last year,
according to figures.

The total - almost equivalent to a battalion - is a jump of nearly 50
per cent in three years.

Cocaine use among soldiers has soared by four times in that period.

The Record obtained the figures which will be published tomorrow in
the respected Journal of the Royal United Services Institute.

The Army's "zero-tolerance" policy means any soldier who fails a
drugs test is normally booted out.

But some experts are calling for a rethink.

Last night, a Scots former sergeant major said: "Soldiers now have
Afghanistan or Iraq looming on the horizon.

"For some, failing a drugs test can be the quickest and easiest
option to get out. I believe many of these positive tests are for that reason.

"The Army is well rid of these types.

"But I also believe that if a committed, professional soldier, who
may have taken drugs stupidly through peer pressure fails tests, it
may not be so straightforward.

"It would be madness to kick out dedicated professionals who the Army
knows can do a job."

Defence analyst Christianne Tipping said: "The issue of an increasing
number of drug-related discharges at a time when recruitment and
retention are problematic needs to be examined by the MoD.

"They need to be sure the near zero tolerance approach still
constitutes the best way of managing the problem."

Yesterday, an Army spokeswoman said: "We were the first of the
services to introduce compulsory testing in 1996.

"Since then the sensitivity of the tests has continued to improve.

"We are now at the level of drugs testing for athletes and everything
will show up in the tests, whether it is illegal or prescribed."

Last month, we revealed that 17 soldiers had tested positive for cocaine.

The men from the 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, were tested in Cancun, Mexico.
They had been on exercise in Belize.