The Edmonton Journal January 3, 2003
'Go pills' routine for U.S. pilots
For 30 years Dexedrine has boosted alertness for astronauts and soldiers: PROBING 'FRIENDLY FIRE' BOMBING
By Jim Farrell
On the seventh and final day of their aborted mission to the moon in 1970, the astronauts of Apollo XIII were cold, exhausted and short of sleep.
Mission commander Jim Lovell had just made a mistake that could have killed him and his crew, punching up the wrong computer program for the final course correction.
Minutes later, the astronauts' boss, Deke Slayton, was on the mike, telling the crew that they must break open their medical kit and take Dexedrine tablets -- stimulants to sharpen up their reactions. Until then, they'd all refused to take even an Aspirin. They complied. The astronauts had resorted to the same drug that is implicated in the April 17 "friendly fire" bombing in Afghanistan.
Dexedrine and other members of the amphetamine drug family have been a longtime resource for pilots, astronauts and foot soldiers.
Today, every space shuttle medical kit contains energy-boosting Dexedrine tablets. Every space shuttle astronaut takes a Scopalomine-Dexedrine "cocktail" to counter motion sickness prior to takeoff.
Risk of Falling Asleep
Thirty years ago, B-52 bomber aircrews were issued the drug by flight surgeons for their 24-hour missions, as were fighter pilots in the 1991 Gulf War.
"United States Air Force pilots during Desert Storm stated that 5 mg (milligrams) of Dexedrine helped maintain alertness without causing other changes in mood or perception," a guide for American military flight surgeons states.
"When you're looking at eight, 10, 12, 14-hour missions, under those circumstances I think the use of amphetamines would have to be routine simply in order to make sure that the pilot doesn't fall asleep at the wheel," says John Pike, Washington-based director of global security.org.
"Go pills," as they are called, were only one of the drugs used by aircrew of the F-16 fighters of the U.S. 391st fighter squadron as they bombed Afghanistan a year ago. Aircrews also took Imodium to plug up their bowels during the long flights and sleeping tablets to come down following their missions.
A lawyer for one of the U.S. pilots involved in the "friendly fire" bombing told the Montreal Gazette they were forced to take amphetamine pills that clouded their judgment. Now they face a military panel Jan. 13 to determine if they are to face manslaughter charges for dropping a laser-guided bomb on a battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry troops outside Kandahar during a nighttime live-fire exercise.
But there's no rule that states pilots must take the drugs, says Capt. Kelly Thibodeau, public affairs officer for the U.S. 391st squadron. It's up to them.
"We just make them available and the aircrew can ask for them," says Thibodeau.
Almost everyone takes measures now and then to boost alertness or relax. Millions of adults begin their mornings with a cup of tea or coffee, while many end the day with a drink or an antihistamine tablet which helps them get to sleep.
In the Canadian air force, pilots flying long missions ensure they have fruit juices and plenty of food in the cockpit to maintain energy levels and hydration. But those missions last only four or five hours, not the 12 to 14 hours of U.S. fighter missions over Afghanistan, says Laurie Hawn, a retired CF-18 squadron commander.
Before they began their April 17 mission, pilot Maj. William Umbach asked for a 5-milligram tablet. Maj. Harry Schmidt -- the pilot who dropped the 500-pound bomb on the Canadians -- asked for a 10-milligram pill. At the time, the two men were well rested. It was their first mission in nine days.
The effects of the amphetamines Umbach and Schmidt took were equivalent to "the mood of someone who has had their third or fourth cup of coffee that morning," Pike says. Two separate boards of inquiry -- one in Canada and one in the U.S. -- later concluded the pilots knew what they were doing when they asked for the pills, and the flight surgeon who supplied them knew what he was doing.
"The use of 'go pills' is strictly regulated and requires thorough ground testing to evaluate the benefits that each pilot derives," the Canadian inquiry board concluded.
"In accordance with set policy Major (Umbach) and Major (Schmidt) were ground tested and both were without side effects and were medically cleared for operational use of 'go pills.' "
The U.S. inquiry board agreed.
"The prescribing physician felt that both pilots tolerated the go/no-go pills and managed their crew rest well prior to the incident," the board stated.
Poor judgment -- not drug impairment -- warranting manslaughter charges led to Schmidt dropping his bomb, the two boards concluded.
Lawyers for the two pilots point to evidence of their mental impairment, however. According to the U.S. inquiry, a combination of amphetamines and fatigue may have reduced Schmidt to 91 per cent "cognitive effectiveness."
But ninety-one per cent is a passing grade in any air force, says Chris Madsen, assistant director of warfare studies at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.
"I've been following some of (the Canadian military's) tests on sleep deprivation," says Madsen. "People are considered impaired if they've lost 40 to 50 per cent of their cognitive effectiveness. Ten per cent wouldn't make that much difference. If my 17-year-old daughter has been keeping me awake I would probably have 20-per-cent impairment."
Madsen questions whether fatigue tempered by the effects of Dexedrine would have created any tendency to bomb first and ask questions later.
"You would think impairment would prevent them from dropping the bomb because doubts would come into the picture."
Regardless of what the upcoming hearing decides, it's likely the approved use of drugs will continue and even grow in the American military.
As outlined in a document published by the U.S. Special Operations Command which oversees elite special-operations troops, amphetamines are "part of a new trend that foresees 'performance enhancements' designed to produce 'iron bodies and iron willed personnel.' "
But at least for now, any use of performance-altering drugs is frowned upon within the Canadian Armed Forces.
"It's absolutely verboten," says Hawn, who flew in the Gulf War and later over Kosovo before retiring from the Canadian air force with the rank of lieutenant colonel. "Some of it would have been a point of principle."
No Sympathy
Hawn has no sympathy for claims by Schmidt's lawyer that Dexedrine may have contributed to his client's lapse in judgement.
"Even if they were under fire from small arms, it posed no threat at the altitude they were at," Hawn says.
"All they had to do was withdraw from the area and sort out whether the people on the ground were friendlies or hostile."
Any Canadian fighter pilot would have abided by the rules of engagement, which dictated retreating to a safe distance while flight controllers determined what was going on, Hawn said.
Instead, Schmidt flew lower, then attacked, later claiming he dropped his bomb in self-defence.
"I can categorically state a Canadian would not have dropped that bomb -- absolutely not," Hawn insisted.
"I can back that up with what I saw in Kosovo where our guys repeatedly brought their weapons home instead of dropping them when they weren't sure."
Copyright 2003 CanWest Interactive
