Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jan 2006
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2006 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Martha Mendoza, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

DRUG USE, PREGNANCY CITED AS DRAINING MILITARY RANKS

Discharges Rising Since Iraq War Began, Pentagon Report Says

Drug use, weight problems and parenthood are among the reasons people 
have been leaving the military in the past three years, since the war 
on terror began, according to newly released Pentagon data.

Documents released to the Associated Press under the Freedom of 
Information Act indicate the number of enlisted personnel leaving 
each year has increased from 8.7 percent in 2002 to 10.5 percent last year.

Enlisted losses -- including people whose enlistments had expired -- 
increased from 118,206 in 2002 to more than 137,465 last year, while 
officer losses have increased from 5,619 in 2002 to more than 7,500 last year.

The subset of those leaving before their term was up, for reasons 
ranging from disability to drug abuse, increased from 58,214 in 2002 
to 60,406 last year among enlisted personnel and from 1,011 in 2002 
to 1,280 for officers.

"Service members leave the military for a variety of reasons," said 
Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke at the Pentagon.

"We appreciate their service and respect their reasons for leaving 
the service."

Krenke said the military met and in some cases exceeded its retention 
goals this year.

None of the 1.4 million service members on active duty today is 
allowed to simply quit the military, but soldiers can be kicked out, 
or in certain cases receive special discharges.

The reasons for leaving the service differ in each branch, though 
general misconduct -- a term which can mean anything from petty theft 
to brawling with colleagues -- has consistently been the most common 
explanation.

Pentagon data going back 10 years shows that service losses last year 
still are below overall levels in the mid-1990s, when the Defense 
Department struggled with both retention and recruitment.

But in recent years, some categories reached 10-year highs.

Pregnancy and parenthood, for example, have steadily increased as a 
reason for personnel losses, especially in the Army, where last year 
4,238 soldiers were discharged from the Army for pregnancy and 
parenthood, up from 2,862 in 2002 and 2,565 in 1996.

Pregnancy used to mean an automatic discharge; these days, it is an 
option but not a requirement. Even so, increased numbers of service 
members are asking to get out because they have children.

"These days military parents are finding it very complicated to 
serve, because a lot of people are being deployed, many are being 
deployed multiple times, and these deployments have proved to be 
unpredictable in length and frequency," said Shelley MacDermid, 
director of the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue 
University in West Lafayette, Ind.

MacDermid said she has even heard of instances where soldiers "use 
pregnancy as a way to get out of a situation they don't like."

Drug use also is an increasing reason soldiers are being discharged 
from the Army, up 40 percent since 2002; last year, 1,986 soldiers 
were kicked out of the Army for using marijuana, cocaine, "ecstasy" 
and other illegal drugs.

By contrast, soldiers thrown out for alcohol abuse dropped from 251 
in 2002 to 164 last year.

Another issue that is prompting increased discharges is a failure to 
meet weight standards.

The Army, which has the most stringent weight standards of all the 
military branches, kicked out more than 3,285 soldiers last year 
because they were too heavy.

The high-profile and usually controversial discharges -- like 
conscientious objection and homosexuality -- represent a small 
fraction of the total losses.

Only about 40 uniformed personnel received honorable discharges as 
conscientious objectors last year.

The Pentagon did not release 2005 numbers of those released for 
"homosexual conduct," but in 2004 just 653 people were discharged 
under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

That was down from a 10-year high in 2001 of 1,273.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom