More than 200 Australian Defence Force personnel sacked over illegal drugs
More than 200 Australian Defence Force personnel have been sacked in the past two years after testing positive for illegal drugs.
More than 200 Australian Defence Force personnel have been sacked in the past two years after testing positive for illegal drugs, with cocaine and ecstasy topping the list of detected substances.
Data obtained through a freedom-of-information request revealed 124 personnel returned positive tests for cocaine use from July 2019 to June 30 this year. During the same period, 80 tested positive for MDMA – commonly known as ecstasy – and 49 to the closely related drug, MDA. Many of those who tested positive had multiple drugs in their systems.
The problem was most serious in the army, which terminated 140 personnel for illegal drug use over the two-year period.
The navy sacked 57 personnel and the air force dismissed 10 aviators over the same period.
Amphetamine use was relatively low, with just 17 positive tests across the three services, while 40 personnel were detected with cannabis in their systems. Eighteen tested positive to anabolic steroids.
Cocaine and ecstasy use were most problematic in the army and navy, while the most significant drug issue in the air force was misuse of the opiate codeine.
Defence has a near-zero tolerance policy towards illegal drug use, sacking the majority who return positive tests.
The fresh evidence of substance abuse problems among ADF members comes amid soaring rates of suicide among veterans, with recently updated figures revealing 1270 former and serving defence personnel have taken their own lives in the past two decades.
A Defence spokesman said: “Testing of ADF personnel can occur anywhere and at any time.
“ADF personnel who test positive for prohibited substances are issued a formal notice to show cause under the ADF disciplinary system,” he said.
“The decision to terminate a member’s service is determined on a case-by-case basis.”
Defence conducted about 23,000 tests in 2019-20, and 19,350 in 2020-21. The spokesman said the number of positive tests did not indicate Defence had an illicit drug problem, with the rate of positive tests falling from 1.72 per cent in 2005-06, to 0.58 per cent in 2020-21.
The results suggest drug abuse by serving ADF personnel is lower than in the wider community, with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reporting in 2019 that 16.4 per cent of the Australian population had used an illicit drug in the previous 12 months.
One former army officer told The Australian that the majority of drug use was by younger soldiers “taking cocaine and MDMA on a Friday night”, believing it would be out of their system by the time they faced a drug test.
He said while illegal drug use was prevalent, “it pales in comparison to the problems the army has with its soldiers and the use of alcohol”.
Sociologist Samantha Crompvoets, who has undertaken several studies on ADF culture including one that exposed war crimes by special forces soldiers, said Defence had worked hard to stamp out substance abuse in its ranks. But, despite warnings and higher testing rates, she said some ADF members still believed they could get away with taking illegal drugs.
“It probably comes down to young guys who think they are invincible,” Dr Crompvoets said.
“About 50 per cent of the army are 18 to 23-year-old males. They are going to do dumb things, regardless of what Defence does. “But what has shifted culturally is the response to it. It is no longer, ‘Oh well, we’ll give him another chance’. Now the focus is on greater professionalism in the workplace. To their credit, they have cracked down on it.”
However, military lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz said ADF members who tested positive for illicit drugs should be given access to counselling and rehabilitation programs, rather than being “hung out to dry”.
“They are dumping them on the street, and into the hands of DVA, when Defence should be saying, ‘We have contributed to this. We are going to get you into treatment. We will meet our duty of care to you’,” he said.
“If it means you have to be medically discharged, well so be it. But they shouldn’t launch straight into an administrative discharge, which at the end of the day is punitive and can only be damaging to people’s mental health outcomes.”
Mr Kolomeitz said he had represented 207 veterans facing criminal charges who were granted access to criminal diversion programs if they entered drug or alcohol rehabilitation programs.
“Once they entered into treatment and undertook programs, there was zero recidivism.”
Drug and alcohol abuse by veterans will be examined as factors in the royal commission into veterans’ suicide, which will start later this month in Brisbane.
A Defence background paper for the inquiry said illicit drugs were “incompatible with an effective and efficient Defence Force and can undermine health, safety, discipline, morale, security and reputation”.
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