Speed really does kill: civilians in Afghanistan

[Beagle]

I think maybe we should train some more pilots.

A statement issued yesterday by the US Air Force Surgeon General’s Office confirmed the use of amphetamines by pilots. It said: “During contingency and combat operations, aviators are often required to perform their duties for extended periods without rest. While we have many planning and training techniques to extend our operations, prescribed drugs are sometimes made available to counter the effects of fatigue during these operations.”

Now, refresh my memory, are we still fighting a war against drugs? Or, is it a war on drugs? [sub]literally[/sub]

[mandielise]

You kidding? The government doesn’t have to follow its own rules. Just like police officers don’t have to obey traffic signs, signals, or speeds. No one wants to do as they say!!!

[Johnny_L.A]

I have a Vietnam-era survival kit in my collection that lists amphetamines as part of the standard kit. (They were removed at some point before I got the kit.)

[Ringo]

I knew military use of amphetamines went back to at least WWII. A site titled Amphetamines yielded:

Initially synthesised between the two world wars, they were used as a military drug to give soldiers more energy and increased alertness.

But that’s a site whose domain name includes “area51.” A more credible page, Stimulant Use in Extended Flight Operations says this:

PSYCHOSTIMULANTS, particularly amphetamine, became available in America for clinical use in 1937, and since then have been widely prescribed. More recently, their beneficial effects have been overshadowed by the recognition of a significant abuse potential. Nevertheless, the military services, particularly the Air Force, have recognized the value of psychostimulants under certain conditions. Use of amphetamine, at the direction of the unit commander and under the supervision of the flight surgeon, has been sanctioned by some components of the Air Force since 1960 and by the tactical air forces until 1991. In March 1991, following successful completion of Operation Desert Storm, the chief of staff of the Air Force sent a message terminating the policy of allowing in–flight medications, including amphetamines, by Air Force personnel.

And:

The greatest use of the drug reportedly occurred during World War II by German, Japanese, and English troops.

And:

Military leaders are justified in their concern about public reaction to disclosure of the military’s use of performance–enhancing drugs. The answer may lie in classifying our involvement to avoid media exploitation, educating our leaders and public concerning the unique military value of these medications, or employing some combination of these or other approaches. Unfortunately, the elimination of amphetamine use has put aircrews at increased actual risk for the sake of eliminating theoretical risk-a decision that does not pass the test of common sense and therefore should be changed.

That’s from the Aerospace Power Journal, circa Spring 1997.

Another site mentions the Germans’ WWII military usage.

And Pharmacological Strategies To Improve Military Operational Readiness - (MRMC-01-03) offers this:

In the second example, emergency aids to maintain performance during sustained operations missions are critical to Army aviators and other specialized performers where lapses in mental performance may be catastrophic. During Operation Desert Storm, amphetamine use in such critical aviator jobs was approved on a limited emergency basis. While amphetamines and other vigilance-enhancing drugs have been demonstrated to be efficacious and, on a limited use basis, have relatively few side effects, new drugs approved for narcolepsy such as modafinil may be equally useful with fewer side effects.

Slightly off-topic (what was the question?), another amphetamines site turns up the following tidbits:

The drug was widely issued to and used by troops during the Spanish Civil War, but the Second World War was amphetamine’s finest hour: approximately 72 million pills were handed out to British troops alone, but German and Japanese soldiers were also consuming. Hitler himself injected with methyl amphetamine up to five times a day, as well as swallowing pills, which explains a lot. British Prime Minister Anthony Eden said that he existed on Benzedrine during the Suez crisis of 1952. John F Kennedy was also reportedly a heavy user of methyl amphetamine. Use and abuse by the military continued throughout the Korean and Vietnam wars, as the drug was indispensable for keeping tired troops awake and alert and boosting confidence, courage and aggression. Around this time two things happened: the pharmaceutical industry ‘discovered’ that a regular amphetamine intake was extremely damaging, and speed became a confirmed street favourite.

[Beagle]

Thanks Ringo, that was informative. I though we were through with speed in the military. Apparently not.

What happens to pilots when they have been on a regimen of uppers and downers for a while? It must adversely affect them. These guys are flying advanced combat aircraft with enormously deadly weapons. The lack of proper rest concerns me also. That may be even more dangerous to people on the ground than the speed.

The pilots were provided with the stimulant Dexedrine, generically known as dextroamphetamine and referred to as a “go-pill” by the airmen, when they set off on missions. When they returned, doctors gave them sedatives or “no-go pills” to help them sleep. Pilots who refused to take the drugs could be banned from taking part in a mission…[snip]

In addition, few of the pilots based in Kuwait – where they were originally deployed to patrol the no-fly zone over southern Iraq – received the recommended 12 hours rest between missions as they were on double duty.

John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a defence think-tank, said: "Better bombing through chemistry. I think [enquiring whether amphetamine use had a role in the bombing errors] is an obvious question to ask. I am surprised that the question has not been asked before.

Independent.co.uk

[Larry_Mudd]

The Memory Hole offers the relevant portions of Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations, a US Navy guide for Flight Surgeons from 2000.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I can see the benefit of making amphetamines available in combat situations - they could be a lifesaver, if used judiciously. However, I think that the Navy has taken a wrong-headed approach to regulation:

Importance of Self-Regulation

The delegation of responsibility for use of these
medications to the individual aviator, with close followup
by the flight surgeon is extremely important and the
key to success in the operational arena. This principle
was strongly emphasized by the Air Force during Desert
Storm. If the operational tempo is intense enough to
generate significant fatigue, then an overly restrictive
medication protocol will probably lose its utility due to
lack of flexibility. Aviators, by their nature, are efficient
at using tools given to them to achieve specific goals.
Anti-fatigue medications are no exception.

I think that amphetamines certainly are an exception, when it comes to trusting people to use their own judgement about when their use is appropriate.