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Sailors with HMCS Charlottetown booted for failed drug tests
Postmedia News / May 14
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2011-05-14/article-2505285/Sailors-with-HMCSCharlottetown-booted-for-failed-drug-tests/1
Eight Canadian sailors tested positive for illicit drugs and were booted off a naval vessel before it arrived in Libya as part of the military action in that country, the Canadian Forces said Friday.
All 235 crew members on HMCS Charlottetown were tested 48 hours before the vessel departed to be stationed near the conflict-stricken North African country.
Navy spokeswoman Lt. Heather McDonald said the sailors were dispatched from the ship at the first port of call en route to Libya and were immediately replaced.
"Eight sailors were removed from the ship and they'll undergo an administrative review on a case-by-case basis," McDonald said.
"Because the testing was done only 48 hours prior, the results weren't available until the ship was already out at sea, so at the first opportunity the sailors were replaced. It had no impact on operational readiness."
A ninth sailor also tested positive during the test, but the drugs discovered in that case were legally prescribed, so that sailor was allowed to continue to serve on the mission.
McDonald could not specify which drugs were flagged in the tests, but said all eight sailors were junior members of the Canadian Forces.
She said after a review, penalties could range from mandatory counselling and probation to discharge. McDonald said no criminal charges can stem from the findings of the mandatory screenings.
The percentage of drug infractions from the most recent deployment were down from the last two missions for Canadian naval ships.
In October 2009, a number of sailors aboard HMCS Fredericton, which patrolled off the Horn of Africa as part of a counterpiracy mission, failed the drug screening.
Earlier that year, in April, more infractions were discovered on HMCS Winnipeg, which was serving as a component of a NATO response force in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
McDonald said both those ships housed similar-sized crews, but 11 and 12 positive tests were discovered, although she could not specify which ship had more positive tests.
Sailors with HMCS Charlottetown booted for failed drug tests
Postmedia News / May 14
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2011-05-14/article-2505285/Sailors-with-HMCSCharlottetown-booted-for-failed-drug-tests/1
Eight Canadian sailors tested positive for illicit drugs and were booted off a naval vessel before it arrived in Libya as part of the military action in that country, the Canadian Forces said Friday.
All 235 crew members on HMCS Charlottetown were tested 48 hours before the vessel departed to be stationed near the conflict-stricken North African country.
Navy spokeswoman Lt. Heather McDonald said the sailors were dispatched from the ship at the first port of call en route to Libya and were immediately replaced.
"Eight sailors were removed from the ship and they'll undergo an administrative review on a case-by-case basis," McDonald said.
"Because the testing was done only 48 hours prior, the results weren't available until the ship was already out at sea, so at the first opportunity the sailors were replaced. It had no impact on operational readiness."
A ninth sailor also tested positive during the test, but the drugs discovered in that case were legally prescribed, so that sailor was allowed to continue to serve on the mission.
McDonald could not specify which drugs were flagged in the tests, but said all eight sailors were junior members of the Canadian Forces.
She said after a review, penalties could range from mandatory counselling and probation to discharge. McDonald said no criminal charges can stem from the findings of the mandatory screenings.
The percentage of drug infractions from the most recent deployment were down from the last two missions for Canadian naval ships.
In October 2009, a number of sailors aboard HMCS Fredericton, which patrolled off the Horn of Africa as part of a counterpiracy mission, failed the drug screening.
Earlier that year, in April, more infractions were discovered on HMCS Winnipeg, which was serving as a component of a NATO response force in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
McDonald said both those ships housed similar-sized crews, but 11 and 12 positive tests were discovered, although she could not specify which ship had more positive tests.
