ARMY HOLDS ON TO ITS DRUG TAKERS

Soldiers with drug problems are being sent by the Army to a rehabilitation
clinic because discharging them would aggravate personnel shortages.

A total of 668 soldiers tested positive last year, a 10 per cent increase
on the previous year, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday.

Officially, soldiers who test positive face dismissal, but for some time
commanding officers have had the discretion to keep them.

An Army document leaked to The Telegraph said it was now "exploring
possible developments in remedial training of those who test positive and
are retained".

The MoD confirmed that the Army was examining treatment "including both
military and clinical elements, that helps to reduce reoffending" and that
this included rehabilitation units.

Those with a drugs problem who are considered to have potential as soldiers
are already being sent to a small rehabilitation unit at the Duchess of
Kent psychiatric hospital, Catterick, North Yorks, a spokesman said.

The vast majority of those in the unit were being treated before discharge,
but a small number were soldiers who would be retained, a spokesman said.

The Army's relaxation of its rigid policy of discharging anyone caught
taking drugs is driven by its acute problems in retaining enough personnel.

Recruiting offices were ordered last year to stop asking new recruits if
they had taken drugs amid concerns that doing so was one of the factors
preventing the Army from getting its numbers up above 100,000.