Drugs Infiltrate Navy Special Ops Force

(Winter 2017) Mirroring civilian life, drug use is rising even among the elite Navy SEALs. Just over a year ago, the growing problem led to a “safety standdown,” which temporarily stopped SEAL training, and within a three-month period, five SEAL members were removed due to drug use.

It was identified that SEALs, who are trusted with national security duties and intelligence reports, have a higher rate of drug use than the remainder of the Navy. Several active SEALs disclosed to a CBS reporter that it had been years since they were subject to a drug screening.

The spike in use may be caused, in part, by lax drug testing practices among the SEALs. Even though guidelines state that they should be tested at the same frequency as other sailors, Navy SEALs have not been screened when deployed. This accounts for a majority of the time, as their expertise is always in demand.

Recently all 900 SEALs based on the East Coast were mandated to either attend or watch via the web a meeting regarding the issue, and they were then screened for drugs. It was made clear the SEALs should now expect to be tested when traveling and when in the field.

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