SBS Doco on US military amph use

if youre quick...

tue, 12 aug, 8.30pm

THE CUTTING EDGE: THE NEED FOR SPEED
Going to War on Drugs - When Tom Cruise uttered those famous words in the film Top Gun, I feel the need, the need for speed, he would not have known that his words had already been taken literally by the U.S. Air Force, in a way he could never have imagined. This documentary exposes how the Air Force, Navy and Special Forces have been issuing mind-altering drugs to their soldiers and airmen - almost certainly resulting in the deaths of allied forces and innocent civilians. In an extraordinary investigation, American military personnel speak for the first time, to explain how they were used as guinea pigs in wars ranging from the Gulf, Bosnia, Afghanistan and right up until the recent conflict in Iraq. We also discover that vital information on 'friendly fire' incidents has been withheld and examine the true human costs of wars fought on drugs. (From Germany, in English).

Damnit it I missed it. Sounds like it would've made for interesting viewing.

it was pretty good. but by the end of it, it turned into a drug bashing session.
At the start it was unbiased and interesting. while it was interesting the whole way through i feel they let the 'drug war' mind-set come in a bit too much.
i'm sure there dexidrine binges were a part of what caused problems in the field. but i find it riduculous to put 100% of the blame on the amphet use, which to me it sounded like by the end of the flick.
i give it a 7.5/10

P.S. i loved the scene where the pilot is walking with the huge bag of orange pills down the runway.
I WANT THAT BAG!!!!!

World Peace Please.

I saw it .
Quick short review and opinion.

I support proper & UN sanctioned usage of medicine for world safety, liberty & humanitarian purposes; where need be.

I be concerned also as to the temperament of those involved.

From what I observed, the unfortunate "friendly fire" and other incidents occurred perhaps somewhat due to lack of clear information (Audio/Visual+) coming through to the trigger holder.

This indeed be very sad for me when lives be lost.

Proper medicine substance ingestion, It seems is a good and powerful tool that if taken purely and well can enhance and even effect healing upon the person.

However,as an Fx aircraft or automobile,REALISATION OF RESPONSIBILITY COMES THEREWITH.

In proper liberty,
I support correct policies.
that are in alignement with Earth Peace and Safety.

I never thought I'd say this, but wh0rd Oceanboy.

At the same time, I'd be suggesting that the amphetamine or dexedrine would have to have some type of effect on the soldier's temperament, and I'm not sure if I agree with this aspect of it if it was to make angrier, more vicious soldiers and pilots.

I think one important point that was made during the show was, if it is safe and OK for the military pilots and special forces to be taking "Go Pills" and "No Go Pills" for "fatigue management" then what about their use by commercial pilots? Then taking that a step further, what about their use by truck drivers and bus drivers etc?

Also, the irony wasn't lost on me. Isn't the USA leading the war on drugs? Yet alot of these military personnel had no choice whether they took the pills or not. They were ordered to do so, and that was that.

Great. What an Incentive by the Government to have drug addicts join the Army!

"Need a HIT? Get in Quick! US Army enrolling now"

Also, the irony wasn't lost on me. Isn't the USA leading the war on drugs? Yet alot of these military personnel had no choice whether they took the pills or not. They were ordered to do so, and that was that.

Click to expand...

EXACTLY! I found this to be very humorous the whole way through the doco.

You can see it now. implementing all these anti-drug laws in the midst of one George Bush's coke binges so there's more for him and his buddies!
hehe

anyone tape this?

one of our best threads on this topic is here

^^^ Sorry JB, didn't tape it.

Your link is interesting though. One of the specific 'accidents' they were talking about was the one where the Canandian soldiers were taken out by American "friendly fire", as mentioned in your link.

what was disturbing was when the pilot dropped a 500 pound bomb on allies training at night and he then says to himself "i hope that was the right thing to do"

PARANOIA!!!!!!!

No way should anyone flying an aircraft (I don't give a fuck about the monetary value) loaded to the fucking gills with weapons, be under the influence of ANY drug, regardless of the intention. They have to make life or death decisions, there's a huge difference between condoning recreational drug use, and condoning the use of drugs to make people fight (supposedly) more efficiently.

I thought the key thing was the absolute hypocrisy of the American government in permitting this (though it does just confirm my belief that the Pentagon is a law unto itself) forcing of drugs on pilots to allow them to fly combat missions, while on the other hand, condemning these same drugs as being dangerous etc. So the Pentagon says one thing, the Government says another. Secondly, another issue I thought warranted attention, was the fact that the use and distribution of them was not controlled in any way, if a pilot wanted them he could collect as many as he wanted, and the use of them was not in any way controlled or monitored.

This is just another example of the USA doing whatever the fuck it wants, at the expense of EVERYONE else.

My opinion on the issue is summed up like this.

Drugs = Neutral

Drugs & Weapons = FUCKING BAD NEWS!

Who the fuck wants a pack of paranoid, speed freaks flying in the self proclaimed World Policeman's army fighting wars of liberation?

Not me.

I think one downfall of the documentary was that it focussed almost SOLELY on so called 'friendly fire' deaths, and not enough on the fucking huge civilian casualties that are caused by the complete and utter disregard for human life (if they're not american) of the US war machine.

Enough, at least they showed it here.

-plaz out-

its terrible isnt it.
Some war i forget which one (vietnam?) The US soliders got given government grade speed. which made them mad killing machines, the generals didnt care ( they were happy for it, i guess?) and i believe that the JAPS were given Government grade - HIgh Quality, purer form of Speed, yep METH
Somepointlesspossiblyfactual information for u

-CaM

But the guy on "Air Force TV" said "there is no drug-like effect", so it must be ok 8(

...I stopped watching after that.

Not too happy about missing this... I was at TAFE and forgot to record it...

As the general consensus around here seems to be totally against driving while using drugs I cannot believe that it was suggested that the rules should be different for anyone operating a multimillion dollar killing machine...

If the U.S. military is allowed to be using amphetamines I hardly think it is aprropriate that use is restricted for the general population... Especially when the justification of said drugs being illegal is that they are dangerous and a health risk...

Share the wealth you bastards

Hmm, lemme rephrase what I've said. I don't agree with the double standards in terms of the views of the "badness" of the drug, but I believe that there are valid and practical applications for drug use in different workplace environments. In a case like this, I think it is DEFINITELY a situation where chemical assistance such as stimulant use can assist the driver. How many people wake up, shower, coffee before driving to work? How many without that coffee would be unable to do so?

Society's reliance on substances is far understated, and I think we should be looking at ways to incorporate these substances in USEFUL and PRACTICAL ways into our lives if they can be of great benefit.

i find it extremely frustrating how the guy on AFTV says there is no 'drug like' effects from dexies. WTF!!! dexies are some hardcore shit! if i could get pure dexedrine instead of meth i know what i would use!!!!!

anyways, how does this differ from the constant attack on truckies using a little whiz to get through the long hours and pilots in war planes buzzed out of their brains.
the contradiction's are so blatantly obvious on so many social fronts that if anyone doesn't realise how fucked up this whole situation is than the world really is full of complete dickheads.

my 2c

... above the law as always

fuck this shitty society

oh come on now, meth use in military predates WWII and the best guerreros have been chemically enhanced for centuries, if not millenia, what of the muscaria-glogging Berserkers, Soma-slugging Hindu warriors and just look up the origins of the word "asassin," hheh.

How dexamphetamine could be useful in dropping laser guided missles is beyond me. If pilots are tired then hire more pilots and rest them more often. It's really that simple. Although I can see it being of some benefit to soldier in the trenches in a painful ground war.