R.J. Godlewski's The Independent Counterterrorist. I, Militia. June ...

As the recruiting climate has grown more difficult, the
Army also has increased the number of recruits who require
moral waivers because of misdemeanor offenses.
Through April, about 15.5 percent of recruits required
some kind of waiver for a misdemeanor offense, drug,
alcohol incident, or medical problem, compared with 12
percent for 2004 and 15 percent for 2005 when the Army
missed its recruiting goal. (emphasis added) 53
As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, the use
of moral waivers has increased and has led to accepting
many more recruits who have had contact with law
enforcement and the courts due to drug offenses.
When peacekeeping forces have been sent to conflicts
where drugs are available, they have not proven immune
from succumbing to drug use themselves. Much
like combatants, peacekeepers are frequently exposed
to dangerous, provoking, or humiliating situations and
have limited possibilities to express the resulting anger
and frustration due to restrictive rules of engagement
that encourage neutrality. Self-medication with alcohol
and drugs to calm down or to “take the edge off” have
not been uncommon. 54 In Cambodia, the favorite drink
among the United Nations (UN) personnel at parties
was the “Space Shuttle,” made “by distilling a pound
of marijuana over a 6-week period with increasingly
good quality spirits. It is a work of love, and the final
product is an amber-colored liquid that tastes like
cognac. We drink it with rounds of Coke.” 55
Command and control problems due to drug use
can also affect professional militaries. For example, the
British Army has confirmed one instance of a major
compromise in command and control due to drug use
among its ranks in the war in Iraq. One former soldier
claimed that 75 men from his company, 60 percent of its
strength, regularly took cocaine, ecstasy, or marijuana.
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