carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) (12/18/89)
From: Carl Noseworthy <carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca> Post to sci.military (Is this the right address?) Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? -- Carl Noseworthy
denbeste@BBN.COM (Steven Den Beste) (12/19/89)
From: Steven Den Beste <denbeste@BBN.COM> In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes: >Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical >advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs >might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese >Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? The British army historically issued gin to the troops just before a battle. Run or other spirits were routinely issued to sailors in the RN on wooden ships. Alcohol is a good drug for this because in small quantities it makes a person less fearful and more sure of himself. [mod.note: Soviet troops were reportedly issued vodka before some attacks. Lord knows *I'd* need a few stiff belts before joining in a human wave assault... - Bill ] Steven C. Den Beste || denbeste@bbn.com (ARPA/CSNET) BBN Communications Corp. || {apple, usc, husc6, csd4.milw.wisc.edu, 150 Cambridge Park Dr. || gatech, oliveb, mit-eddie, Cambridge, MA 02140 || ulowell}!bbn.com!denbeste (USENET)
nelson@udel.edu (Mark Nelson) (12/19/89)
From: Mark Nelson <nelson@udel.edu> In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes: > >Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical >advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs >might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese >Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? > According to a TV news report on ice (smoked amphetamine crystals) that I saw (and I don't remember on what network), amphetamines were originally invented by the Japanese in the 1930s. They were given to Japanese troops during the war, as a stimulant. The report went on to say that amphetamines were legal in Japan until some time in the 1950s, and that there was a large addict population, consisting mainly of veterans. After they were made illegal, most of the amphetamine production moved to Korea, I assume after the end of the Korean war. -- Mark Nelson ...!rutgers!udel!nelson or nelson@udel.edu This function is occasionally useful as an argument to other functions that require functions as arguments. -- Guy Steele
cash@uunet.UU.NET (Peter Cash) (12/19/89)
From: cash@uunet.UU.NET (Peter Cash) In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes: > > >From: Carl Noseworthy <carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca> > >Post to sci.military (Is this the right address?) > >Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical >advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs >might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese >Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? It's common to ascribe the motivation of enemy soldiers to drugs. (Theirs are drugged fanatics, ours are determined and brave boys.) To look for government-sanctioned military use of drugs, you don't have to look too far. I recall that about a year ago, there was a big stink when it was revealed that the USAF was routinely issuing speed to fighter pilots on long flights. As far as military effectiveness goes, the use of certain drugs such as steroids (make you strong and hostile) and speed (make you awake and hostile) would obviously be advantageous. Tranquilizers would be useful to bring the soldiers down from the other drugs, and to overcome the stress/fatigue effects of battle. The disadvantages would include the social consequences of such drug use (i.e. their continued use by veterans after the war), and--of course--the direct medical consequences of their use on the physiology of the soldiers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | Die Welt ist alles, was Zerfall ist. | Peter Cash | (apologies to Ludwig Wittgenstein) | cash@convex ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yp-mjk@stekt.oulu.fi (Mikko Katajam{ki) (12/20/89)
From: yp-mjk@stekt.oulu.fi (Mikko Katajam{ki)
In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes:
> From: Carl Noseworthy <carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca>
> Post to sci.military (Is this the right address?)
> Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have
> any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical
> advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs
> might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese
> Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights?
I can't refer to anything right now, but about a year ago I read a
book considering the drug abuse now and before. In the book it
was mentioned that U.S. soldiers got some portions of "vitamin-A"
in the end of WWII (the run to Berlin) and I believe as well in
the Korean war. The stuff was basicly amphetamin, might also have
some real vitamins too, but the idea was to keep soldiers awake
longer.
--
Mikko Katajam{ki # e-mail: mjk@steks.oulu.fi
Dept. of elec. eng. # yp-mjk@stekt.oulu.fi
University of Oulu #
SF-90570 Oulu, Finland # "Yes", said a schizophrenic,"no!"harold@celia.UUCP (Harold Buchman) (12/20/89)
From: harold@celia.UUCP (Harold Buchman) Interesting that you should mention the military use of drugs. Just about two years ago Aviation Week ran an issue on projects related to the next generation of USAF fighters. One of the proposed avenues of research was using drugs to increase pilots' tolerance to g forces. There were no further details provided.
military@cbnews.ATT.COM (William B. Thacker) (12/20/89)
From: oink!jep (James E. Prior) In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes: >From: Carl Noseworthy <carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca> >Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >any governments even encouraged it? Years ago, a friend told me how his dad got his back messed up in the Korean War, fending off waves of soldiers doped up on morphine. They would take shots and just keep on coming until they were either dead or unconscious. There is some controversy about whether the Air Force encouraged the use of amphetamines so pilots could stay awake en-route during the mission over Libya a few years ago. I believe that around the turn of the century, our army had difficulty putting down doped up natives in the Philippines. Certainly many goverments have certainly condoned the use of alcohol to boost "resolve". There has been much serious research by governments into the use of drugs, both for use by their own people, and against enemies. -- Jim Prior jep@oink osu-cis!n8emr!oink!jep N8KSM
bxr307@csc.anu.oz (12/20/89)
From: bxr307@csc.anu.oz In article <12427@cbnews.ATT.COM>, denbeste@BBN.COM (Steven Den Beste) writes: > From: Steven Den Beste <denbeste@BBN.COM> > > In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes: >>Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >>any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical >>advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs >>might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese >>Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? > > The British army historically issued gin to the troops just before a battle. > Run or other spirits were routinely issued to sailors in the RN on wooden > ships. > > Alcohol is a good drug for this because in small quantities it makes a person > less fearful and more sure of himself. > The British army issued Rum as a reliever of cold during WWI. The Royal Navy issue of a daily rum ration was only ceased in 1967. In the Australian Army we still have Rum as a cold weather supplementary ration in the ration scales. In addition we have an unofficial rule (and have had one since as long ago as WWII) that each man in the field is entitled to "two cans of beer, per day, perhaps!" Which in other words means that whenever possible a ration of beer will be brought foward and issued to the diggers. However as can be imagined this is not possible all the time. Whenever possible we try and look after our diggers. ;-) In the Royal Australian Navy there is a similar tradition. However technology has caught up with them. On most modern ships (FFG and greater) they have the venerable Cocoa Cola vending machines. After a certain hour of the day (usually 5.00pm) a switch is flipped and they dispense something a little more interesting after you insert your coins! ;-) However only off-duty sailors are allowed to partake. In the RAAF they have similar ideas I'm sure. However I've never spent much time with the "bry-clean boys", so I cannot say for sure. Brian Ross
jon@cs.washington.edu (Jon Jacky) (12/20/89)
From: jon@cs.washington.edu (Jon Jacky) Here are excerpts from a news story that came out last year, confirming that US and other military services issue drugs to servicemen. It was in INSIGHT, a magazine that is, or was, published by THE WASHINGTON TIMES newspaper. It was in the August 22, 1988 issue, pages 18 and 19: FLYING ON AMPHETAMINES IS NO DEPARTURE FROM TRADITION by Susan Katz Keating ...(there was) a recent report that fighter pilots stationed in West Germany are issued both stimulants and sedatives. The administration of drugs to pilots was a featured item on "Monitor," a West German investigative television program. Germans reportedly gasped in horror at the thought of American pilots zipping over Europe, giggling madly while carrying loads of weapons. The civil aviation community in the United States responded with similar expressions of shock: Civilian agencies do not --- ever --- condone flying under the influence of drugs. But the Air Force, which might have been expected to deny or downplay such news, simply shrugged its official blue shoulders and said, in effect, "What's the big deal?" The drugs are indeed issued, says Col. Russell B. Rayman, chief of Air Force Surgeon General's Aerospace Medical Consultants Office. "It's a safe, sensible policy. We've never had an accident with this, and it's smart." The tablets, which are prescribed under strict conditions for pilots on long-distance flights, are credited as lifesavers in a situation known for its enormous physical demands. ... In their use of artificial stimulation, airmen were taking their place in a long military tradition. Historians have speculated that soldiers in the Civil War coped with their arduous marches by using cocaine. The drug is also believed to have been used in the Spanish-American War, and the German's winter march against the Soviet Union during World War II was made possible by amphetamine supplements. "The German army along the Eastern front used Benzedrine extensively," says military historian Shelby Stanton. "They dispensed it to the line troops. Ninety percent of their army had to march on foot, day and night. It was more important for them to keep punching during the Bliztkrieg than to get a good night's sleep. The whole damn army was hopped up. It was one of the secrets of the blitzkrieg." ... Paratroopers and special assault troops in the US Army were also given stimulants in battle in World War II, says Stanton. ... The Army's Special Forces ... were issued amphetamines for use on long-range reconnaisance missions in the Vietnam conflict. Teams infiltrating Laos, for example, were issued survival kits that included 12 Darvon, 24 codeine and six dextroamphetamine tablets per man for each four-day mission. Former Special Forces operatives also report receiving steroid injections before embarking on strenuous, deep-penetration assignments. "Some people were really junked, and had to be taken off the drugs," said one former operative. "They got hooked from the frequency of their missions --- not from breaking into their kits and getting high." Air Force pilots, meanwhile, are issued stimulants only under fishbowl-like conditions governed by the service's surgeon general's office. "We use these medications only under very controlled and special circumstances," says Rayman. Amphetamines are mainly prescribed for fighter pilots on long trans-oceanic missions or on special flights of two or three days' duration requiring frequent in-flight refueling and crossing several time zones. ... Amphetamines are made available to pilots on these high-stress flights, says Rayman, only after a long process of consultation between the aviator's commander and a flight surgeon ... Pills are doled out in small increments before a flight; unused tablets are collected and destroyed afterward. "Pilots are not required to take them," says Rayman. "The great majority don't even use them, but some say they feel good having them available, just in case." ... - Jonathan Jacky, University of Washington, jon@gaffer.rad.washington.edu
military@cbnews.ATT.COM (William B. Thacker) (12/22/89)
From: att!utzoo!henry >From: oink!jep (James E. Prior) >I believe that around the turn of the century, our army had difficulty >putting down doped up natives in the Philippines. A contributing factor in this was inadequate weaponry. Colt's .45 automatic pistol, in particular, came about because of loud complaints that the .38 revolver then issued was ineffective against determined (or drugged) enemies. Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
mmm@cup.portal.com (12/22/89)
From: mmm@cup.portal.com I'd heard that vitamin A (actual vitamin A, not a code name for amphetamine) was given to WW2 bomber personnel to improve their night vision. I'd heard this in an article I read about the discovery that sharks were a prodigous source of the raw material. Is this true? Or is the bit about "vitamin A" being fed to bomber crews over Germany just a cover story for serious drug use.
shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (OFV) (12/22/89)
From: Mary Shafer (OFV) <shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov> Carl Noseworthy <carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca> writes: >Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical >advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs >might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese >Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy used mild sleeping pills (Restoril is the US name) to help their aircrew reset their biological clocks during the Falklands War. The flight surgeons did an extensive study which was reported in the Journal of Aerospace Medicine. Anti-motion-sickness drugs (particularly the behind-the-ear patches) are also frequently used. Caffeine is provided through official channels and is frequently abused. :-) -- Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA Of course I don't speak for NASA
raymond@io.ame.arizona.edu (Raymond Man) (12/23/89)
From: raymond@io.ame.arizona.edu (Raymond Man) In <12530@cbnews.ATT.COM> Henry Spencer wrote >A contributing factor in this was inadequate weaponry. Colt's .45 automatic >pistol, in particular, came about because of loud complaints that the .38 >revolver then issued was ineffective against determined (or drugged) enemies. I believe the 45 revolver came before the 45 automatic, but Mr. Spencer was certainly right about the US Army's choice of 45 cal. because 38 cal.'s ineffectiveness to stop a charging Philipino. Actually the 45 automatic has such calibrate inherited from the 45 revolver, otherwise the much more popular 9mm would have been the choice. Control of a 45 cal. weapon, especially an automatic, requires both a lot of training and a strong hand. "Man is the measure of all things." Just call me `Man'. raymond@jupiter.ame.arizona.edu
woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Wayne Wood) (12/23/89)
From: eos!woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Wayne Wood) In article <12531@cbnews.ATT.COM> mmm@cup.portal.com writes: > > >From: mmm@cup.portal.com >I'd heard that vitamin A (actual vitamin A, not a code name for amphetamine) >was given to WW2 bomber personnel to improve their night vision. I'd heard >this in an article I read about the discovery that sharks were a prodigous >source of the raw material. > >Is this true? Or is the bit about "vitamin A" being fed to bomber crews >over Germany just a cover story for serious drug use. it can go either way. a deficiency of vitamin A will seriously impair your night vision. vitamin A is used by the body in the production of "Visual Purple", the substance in the eye that allows us to see at night... /*** woody **************************************************************** *** ...tongue tied and twisted, just an earth bound misfit, I... *** *** -- David Gilmour, Pink Floyd *** ****** woody@eos.arc.nasa.gov *** my opinions, like my mind, are my own ******/
moshe@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (Moshe Yudkowsky) (12/27/89)
From: moshe@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (Moshe Yudkowsky) In article <12531@cbnews.ATT.COM> mmm@cup.portal.com writes: >I'd heard that vitamin A (actual vitamin A, not a code name for amphetamine) >was given to WW2 bomber personnel to improve their night vision. The tale about British fighter pilots having excellent night vision, due to their intake of carrots, was a cover story hiding the British use of radar to home in on enemy planes. This sounds like more of the same. A vitamin A deficiency will degrade your eyesight. Adding vitamin A to a balaced diet will *not* improve your eyesight. -- Moshe Yudkowsky moshe@ihnet.att.com att!ihnet!moshe "I never saw any problem, however complicated, that when looked at the right way wasn't still more complicated." -- Poul Anderson
khun@cd.chalmers.se.chalmers.se (Peter Wennerholm) (12/27/89)
From: khun@cd.chalmers.se.chalmers.se (Peter Wennerholm) In article <12395@cbnews.ATT.COM> carl@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Carl Noseworthy) writes: >Have governments ever condoned the use of drugs by their soldiers? Have >any governments even encouraged it? I could see some sort of physical >advantage if a whole army was on steroids. What other types of drugs >might be used to enhance performance in soldiers? For example, were Japanese >Kamikaze pilots given some sort of drug before their final flights? Depends on how you define drugs. If you include alcohol, well... When the Soviet army was fighting in Stalingrad it received its supplies via the Volga river (at least I think that river is the Volga river), and the records on how much of each type of supplies that was sent still exists. The "food" that took up the most tonnage was Vodka! Also, several of the British squares at Waterloo had a barrel of rhum in their center. Peter =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Who: Peter Wennerholm Pen: Engelbrektsgatan 26 | ...and I am MUCH At : khun@cd.chalmers.se S-411 37 Gothenburg | better than my Phn: +46 +(0)31 812108 Sweden | reputation...
fiddler@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) (12/27/89)
From: fiddler@Sun.COM (Steve Hix) In article <12531@cbnews.ATT.COM>, mmm@cup.portal.com writes: > > > From: mmm@cup.portal.com > I'd heard that vitamin A (actual vitamin A, not a code name for amphetamine) > was given to WW2 bomber personnel to improve their night vision. I'd heard > this in an article I read about the discovery that sharks were a prodigous > source of the raw material. > > Is this true? Or is the bit about "vitamin A" being fed to bomber crews > over Germany just a cover story for serious drug use. A similar story was circulated for a while to explain why RAF night bomber raids were hitting the target area more often...rather than open up about various navigation and targeting aids such as radar, as well as better night-fighter scores. The story goes that some Luftwaffe types didn't exactly believe it, but they did try large doses of vitamin A on some of their night-fighter crews to see if it *really* did have such an effect. (They had radar, too, so the real explanantion seemed pretty straightforward to at least some of them.) ------------ "...Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and likewise anyone who receives it, in the belief that such writing will be clear and certain, must be exceedingly simple-minded..." Plato, _Phaedrus_ 275d