Global Courant
The US Navy will begin random testing of the elite unit in November, with US Army Special Forces testing to be conducted at a later date.
The US military will begin random drug testing of its special forces, including the Navy SEALs and the Army’s Delta Force, Green Berets and Ranger Regiment, for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs starting in November.
U.S. Vice Adm. Keith Davids, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, said Friday that the tests were necessary to protect soldiers’ health and military readiness.
The Navy will be the first to begin random testing in November, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command said that will follow soon, although no start date has been set.
The U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps Special Commands said they have not yet requested a similar policy of random drug testing.
The use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs is a limited but persistent problem within the U.S. military, but armed forces leaders are wary of more testing.
Navy to Drug Test SEALs for Performance-Enhancing Drugs – USNI News pic.twitter.com/Pg9KfRp3DK
— US Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) September 29, 2023
The U.S. military services have occasionally conducted tests when they notice a problem with an individual military member, but they must get special permission from the Pentagon to conduct routine, random testing.
According to the Navy Command, four military units will be randomly selected each month, and 15 percent of each will be tested. That will amount to as many as 200 sailors per month, and those who test positive will face discipline or expulsion.
A driving factor behind the announcement, which has been in the works for months, was the death of a Navy SEAL candidate early last year.
Kyle Mullen, 24, collapsed and died of acute pneumonia just hours after completing the SEALs’ grueling Hell Week test. A report concluded that Mullen, of Manalapan, New Jersey, died “in the line of duty, not because of his own misconduct.”
Although tests showed no evidence that performance-enhancing drugs were present in his system, a report from the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) said that he had not been screened for certain steroids because the necessary blood and urine samples were not available, and that Several bottles of medicine and syringes were later found in his car.
A broader investigation by the NETC into SEAL training flagged the use of performance-enhancing drugs as a significant problem among those seeking to become elite U.S. commandos and recommended much more robust testing.
Investigations in 2011, 2013 and 2018 into suspected steroid use by SEAL candidates led to discipline and requests for enhanced testing.
The new random tests require sailors to provide two urine samples. One will be sent to the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, a state-of-the-art laboratory used by international sports to test for doping, and the other will go to the Navy Drug Screening Laboratory Great Lakes to check for standard drugs.
If the test result is positive, the sailor will be notified, a preliminary investigation will take place, and if there is no legal basis for the drugs, the sailor will be subject to disciplinary action and removal from the force.
