Drug Use in Vietnam... an age-old military problem, by Phill Coleman

Drug Use in Vietnam... an age-old military problem, by Phill Coleman

"The discovery of morphine was also only a few years
prior to the invention in the 1860's of the hypodermic
needle. In the US following the Civil War so many
soldiers had became chemically dependent on opium and
morphine it was known as the "soldier's disease", and
one of the chief reasons that the government
established the Bureau of Pensions, known today as the
Veteran's Administration."

Hey Brother, Can you spare a joint?, by Phill Coleman, Vietnam Vet and
Editor-in-Chief, DEA Watch

Most Americans think about combat in Vietnam as a war of bullets and
bombs, and body bags filled by dead sons and husbands fragmented after
contact with the enemy. But there was a different kind of war waged in
Vietnam... drug warfare.

The VC and NVA leadership used any and every means available to them,
not just military operations, to win their political and military war
in 1975 three years after the United States decided to withdraw our
combat forces... who proved unable to decisively arrest Northern
aggression after seven years armed effort.

To defeat their democratic inspired allies determined to quash
communism in Vietnam a variety of real and propaganda campaigns were
waged by the North, all too successfully on the grass roots level.

Race warfare was used by Communist directed prostitutes in brothels to
encourage not just receptive but willing whites to victimize black and
other minority GI's. Economic warfare was used to encourage corrupt
GI's to make bargains "with the devil". The underground and overground
Vietnamese economy was maintained by fraudulent commerce... led by
American soldiers who openly bragged about sending home tens of
thousands of dollars per month.

But the most destructive form of non-combat warfare masterminded and
waged by Hanoi... with the help of unscrupulous American military
personnel... was drug warfare. "Americans didn't serve ten years in
Vietnam... they served ten, one-year tours." Each successive tour saw
an increase in drug use among American military personnel. The GI who
served in Vietnam in 1966 was far, far different than the GI who
served only a scant two years later in 1968. And two years later, in
1970, drug use in Vietnam exceeded, per American population, the
combined use of narcotics in every American city... combined!

From "Cannon Fodder: Growing Up For Vietnam", Chapter Twelve:

"Hey Brother, Can you spare a joint?

"Even though everyone on campus knew about the nightly Stone Trek, it
took almost 2 months before the CO found out and another month before
he made a move to end it. Afraid to upset the comcenter's delicate
balance of morale, the CO was aware that the comspecs who participated
in Stone Trek were also some of the best communication specialists on
campus. Sober, they held the country-wide record for processing the
greatest number of messages in the shortest amount of time. Watching
them work was like watching a well-oiled machine. Often not even
needing to speak to each other, they all knew each others strong and
weak points. Without supervision, each man automatically assumed the
job he knew best. The only times things went awry were when a new OIC
would come in, pull rank, then re-shift job responsibilities according
to his "trained judgment." After working with them myself, I realized
this was why the previous CO discontinued the comcenter OIC position
just before I arrived. These men worked better by themselves than with
supervision.

"And even though the CO was aware the comspecs sensitive state of
morale had to exceed job proficiency, it wasn't until drugs started to
effect comcenter productivity that he decided to put an end to the
nightly Stone Trek. Using well-thought out diplomacy, he assigned
Dormally and another clerk to blow up the warehouse one afternoon
while the trekkers were all at work. Using the excuse that they had to
"get rid of a couple of aging grenades", 2 birds were killed with one
stone. Morale was saved and the only secluded area within walking
distance was no longer accessible.

"But undaunted by what most trekkers called "a damnable
inconvenience," jay smoking now went on unabated in the hootches, chow
hall, latrine, Day Room, and the bunkers. It even began at the
comcenter. One positive by-product resulting from Flip's forming the
Stone Trek Brigade was that of the dozens of small "fraternities" on
campus, they were the first to socialize interracially.

"But despite the average high IQ of the people quickly becoming hooked
on drugs to escape their boredom, not enough of them realized that
they were becoming victims to something greater than drug addiction.
They were succumbing to drug warfare. and of those who were
open-minded enough to accept the "theory" that the Soviets or the
Chinese were behind the massive distribution network of drugs being
made cheaply and readily available to American GI's, they still didn't
use their intelligence to avoid drugs completely.

"To those of us who never smoked, popped, shot up, or snorted, drugs
were seen as a deliberate enemy tactic used against the American GI in
V'nam to reduce our fighting capacity. In terms of strategy, drugs
were used against us more widely than bullets. and as a weapon, drug
warfare was a tool the NVA couldn't pass up for 2 reasons. One, the
communists were already a very dishonorable lot. and two, drug warfare
was working.

"Not only was drug availability as easy as simply opening your mouth
and saying I want it, GI's rarely had to go to any work in making it
ready for consumption. Hash was retailed in compact, individual,
consumer-sized pellets ready for the pipe. Marijuana was not only
already rolled, you could even specify filter or non-filter.
Substituted and sold in regular packs of cigarettes, the only way of
knowing whether you had a pack of Winstons or a pack of jays was to
cut each cigarette open and examine the tobacco.

"The duplication process was very meticulous. Done in large, central
warehouses, using all the patient care Oriental cultures have
mastered..."
Complete your reading of the full text online at URL:

http://members.aol.com/vetsofamer/cf12.htm

Begin your reading of "Cannon Fodder" at URL:

http://members.aol.com/warlib/cf.htm

---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com