For all of you NOT in the military, I will tell you my experience with the urinalysis program in the Air Force.

It is a random program, but that does not mean you can't get hit 3 times in a two week period. When you called to do "your part" you have 2 hours to report to the urinalysis area on your base.

If you arrive having to go, that doesn't mean you will go right away. I have waited 30 minutes before going after arriving with a full bladder.

When you go to the bathroom a NCO will follow you. When you urinate, the NCO must the the urine go from your penis (or female area) into the cup. There is no exception. The worse part is they usually pick guys that are 6'5 and 270 as watchers and you feel like you are in prison. Ok, just playing on that part.

It is random, but that is where it ends. They could have 1,000 calls for urine, but have 500 people go 2 times each. You can go 10 years without getting called or get called 3 times in two weeks.

Personally, I think there must be a better way to spend our money. They can do a diabetes test with almost no pain, but we must test drugs through urinalysis and ship the urine to another state? The costs must be high and I generally don't see a drug problem in the Air Force.

Any other thoughts?

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There is a drug problem in the Air Force. At my last base, I knew someone who got busted for drug and forced to resign. At my first base, they caught a whole ring of druggies. You are right about the randomness though. I was called in twice within a month at my last job and none at all at my first lol.

It is random, and I have seen people not get tested. In the Army though....It is mandatory 10% every month and a 100% yearly so when the year is done you actually have 220% or more depending on what your CO says he wants it at.

My last unit they done 30% every QTR and then the yearly 100%.

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CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

I vote for larger bottles

I got called in three times in 4 days, but I did recieve a lovely gift from the Wing CC for my troubles. Needless to say I was pretty angry and dont like the system, I'm just not a fan of urinating on command.

In the army the amount of times you conduct a urinalysis in determined by where you are at. For example since Korea is a low risk area for drugs for a variety of reasons you only do 10% per month. However when I was stationed at Fort Lewis, WA which has a large drug threat environment we had to do 10% every week. This was a pain in the ass but it had to be done because it was closely monitored by the post. If you weren't doing it people would find out and the hammer would come down straight from corps.

However, regardless of where you are at you have to do 50% of your roster every six months and 100% of your roster every year. Bottom line is that everyone in your unit will piss at least once a year and more likely multiple times and these are all checked during yearly command inspections from your higher headquarters.

4 times in my first 8 months here.
I know a young troop in my unit has been called ~15 times. (really a good kid, but it's not too much of a leap to say that he's getting profiled)

It is a big leap since everything is computerized when picking the names.

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CH-47 SI

They must find it difficult...

Those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. --Gerald Massey

I have been the adminstrator of my last unit's program and i can tell you that the reason they make you send your samples to Tripler (or one of the other 2 sites) is so that they can ensure that both the procedures and testing protocols can be tightly controlled.

The system has improved a LOT in the last 4 years, but the key to it all is to have a Commander that really gives a s**t about it and follows the rules (and listens to his UPL) and to have both observer's and UPL's that take the job deadly serious. We had many, many hot results after the unit got back from Iraq, and we even had a few cases where the observer and the UPL had to testify, so they quickly learned just how serious the entire program was. Ft. Carson was also BRUTAL about inspections and procedures, so if your program was not 100% perfect they would make it painfully clear as to what you screwed up and require that the entire test be re-administered.

I suppose testing is necessary, and is a pretty good incentive for one NOT to take drugs, if getting caught could cost you a lot.

I figure that there IS a way to get around the randomness if someone really wants to check a particular person (read "suspect").

I think "Profiling " is a wonderful way to keep people straight. I think it should be allowed anytime by law enforcement for the preservation of safety and good order. Most so -called "profiling" occurs due to the suspicious activities in which the individuals being surveilled are known to be involved.

(I am no longer military, and I do not supervise, so occasionally I may express my own opinions.)