Ten US Air Force officers suspected of drug abuse

The US Air Force has made public that it is investigating ten of its officers at six separate bases in the UK and the US over illegal drug possession. Nine of the men are lieutenants and one is a captain.

Two of the men were nuclear launch control officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana; they have already been suspended from their posts.

The investigation is thought to have started when two officers at Edwards Air Force Base in California, which is the second-largest US Air Force base in America, were found to be in possession of illegal substances.

US Air Force spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Brett Ashworth explained to Reuters that the investigation was “expanded, based on contact with the officers in question regarding recreational drug possession” following the questioning of these two men.

Malmstrom Air Force is responsible for 420 nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. Another US base under investigation, Schreiver, is where the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization is based.

The British base under investigation is Royal Air Force Lakenheath in Suffolk. Although this is an RAF base, it is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, which is assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

The drugs that have been discovered are synthetic marijuana and ecstasy. We recently reported that the US military has added synthetic marijuana to its list of drugs that are prohibited and tested for.

The level of drug abuse within such sensitive military bases surprises many people. All US military personnel are subject to drug testing; however, this news may lead to a review of the drug testing policy within the US Air Force.