4 - The Black Vault

THE BDM CORPORATION
from drugs, and the subsequent response to the drug epidemic in
many
cases was "too little, too late." The Arr•iy and the other
services still have a drug problem and have failed to resolve it
satisfactorily.
* The Army and other services did not have effective pre-deployment
screening procedures to eliminate from overseas assignment pe;- ,
so-nel with high risk potential. The current drug situation in
E-jropi (December 1979) zhows that such screening procedures may
not be highly effective.
H. LESSONS
The following lesso.-s were drawn from this chapter:
* Good ieaders have notably lower drug incidence in their units
than in those units where leaders do not command the respect of
their troops.
0 To cope with drug abuse problems, leaders of all ages and grades
need to unierstand the causal nature of the drug problem.
Leaders should inot have to learn these skills by on-the-job
training but rather should be schooled in the eundarnentals of
drug abuse and the means for preventing, detecting, and handling
drug problems.
* Troops tend to be "battle wise" and "drug wise," avoiding drug
usage in circumstances th3t clearly endanger their lives while in
the performance of their duties; addicts, however, lack that
judgment ability.
I * The principal inducPMent for drug use is boredom, and boredom can
be prevented by intelligent, p-ofessional leaders who know and
understand the problem and who provide meaningful and satisfying
work/activities, opportunities, and rewards to their troops.
* A variety of drug abuse detecti3n measures have `'een developed,
but they have generally been subject to manipulation by clever
drug users
Surprise inspectier; and testing has prnven to be the
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