Hawai'i's military still battles use of illegal drugs
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
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."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
