Doped pilots

[bn880 5]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (theavonlady @ Jan. 17 2003,06:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The Pentagon and CIA are monitoring this thread!

Ooooooooooooooooooh! That ending paragraph is flamebate! Canadians take notice! <span id='postcolor'>

I know you are looking for excitement, but this is a little much.

[bn880 5]

Alright, in that article alone

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"> Demitry said Dexedrine's side effects include headache, nausea and irritability.

<span id='postcolor'>

Irritability proves the case against using dexedrine in situations where judgement is important.

Sure the career oriented Demitry thinks the narcotic is great because it saves pilots from fatigue, but it may also have been partly responsible for this incident by making the pilots irritable.

So you save a dozen U.S. pilots by using it, and kill a few Canadians down the road, wo hoo.

[Bernadotte 0]

PPRUNE stands for Professional Pilots Rumour Network.  It was the first forum I ever joined, about 5 years ago.  Their huge membership is mostly pilots who need someplace to voice their true opinions anonymously.  You may not wish to visit them if you are a frequent flier.  

Here is their thread discussing the Afghan FF incident.

Here is an opinion poll about the fate of the pilots.

[zverushka 0]

jeesus the pilots are insane

[R. Gerschwarzenge 0]

I did some caffeine experiments last spring and the results were:

100mg= I don't feel tired

200mg= I can type very fast + some euphoria

300mg= I can type very very very fast + some euphoria

400mg= What's happening... Funny twitching + no more euphoria

>400mg= I think my heart tries to get out of my chest + cold sweat

[Harnu 0]

I drank two cans of Red Bull before a football game of mine. I got out onto the feild and felt very alert. By the end of pre-game, I couldn't stop thinking. Just going on and on about anything. My normal nervousness seemd to be amplified. But one the field I was able to get focused. Not sure if it was the Red Bull wearing off or what, but it gets kinda freaky.

[FSPilot 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (zverushka @ Jan. 18 2003,02:22)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">jeesus the pilots are insane <span id='postcolor'>

note they dont represent the majority of the pilots

i tried some caffeine drinks in high school. didnt notice any real effects

[mr. Duck 0]

I don't think caffeine has any effect on me anymore

Me drink way too much of that stuff.

Tried red bull, mwa, looks like apple juice, tastes like it, same effect. (and yes it was red bull)

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">jeesus the pilots are insane <span id='postcolor'>

No pilots are nuts

[FSPilot 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (mr. Duck @ Jan. 18 2003,06:44)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">No pilots are nuts  <span id='postcolor'>

[Aaron Kane 0]

I'm thinking caffeine might have stopped affecting me as well, if thats even possible. I can normally fall straight to sleep after a Mountain Dew. Maybe thats just not enough caffeine though?

[DarkLight 0]

Hmmm, the redbull thing is rather weird, i always thought that those kind of drinks contain sugars that can be used by your body very fast... So instead of sugars that enter your blood slowly, they enter your blood fast, giving you more energy, that can be used immediatly.

But i didn't know it had anything to do with caffeine.

Caffeine makes you less tired, like when you drink a lot of Cola, it might be harder to fall asleep directly after it...

Does the caffeine actually make you more alert? Maybe it's just the 'fast sugars' that made you react better.

In general, these sugars just give you the ability to do something for a longer time (like running longer than you normally could, so basically, you get don't get tired as fast as usual). Or it's also good to drink semiliar drinks after you played a game of football or something like that. The drink will 'refill' your energy and you'll feel a lot less exhausted.

Just look at the tennis players, they drink that crap too.

[Badgerboy 0]

A student in Cardiff Univeristy died after drinking 30 cans of Red Bull!

I think it was 3 or 4 months ago.

[DarkLight 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Badgerboy @ Jan. 17 2003,18:54)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">A student in Cardiff Univeristy died after drinking 30 cans of Red Bull!

I think it was 3 or 4 months ago.<span id='postcolor'>

Not hard to believe, one drink is enough to get a little enery boost, imagine what 30 of those would do...

[Renagade 0]

The same would happen if u smoked 20 cigarettes one after the other but some ppl could do it if they had built enough tolerance to the drug.

[Badgerboy 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The same would happen if u smoked 20 cigarettes one after the other but some ppl could do it if they had built enough tolerance to the drug<span id='postcolor'>

I've done that a few times!

I was incredibly pissed at the time.... so drunk I think I tried to eat a few.... while they were still lit.

Glory days!

[Tovarish 0]

I know I posted this in the Dogs of War thread because I thought it was relevant to the downed British strike fighter by a Patriot SAM, but I think it should also be posted where it belongs.

Slap on the wrist?

[FSPilot 0]

Well when you think about it it's not like they maliciously took drugs before flying. They were ordered to or else it would go on their record. I know they made a mistake, but I don't think it was their fault. I don't think they deserve anything more than a slap on the wrist.

Lets put you in an airplane, hop you up on some speed, then make it look like someone on the ground is shooting at you, see how you react.

[Tovarish 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (FSPilot @ Mar. 24 2003,04:29)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Well when you think about it it's not like they maliciously took drugs before flying.  They were ordered to or else it would go on their record.  I know they made a mistake, but I don't think it was their fault.  I don't think they deserve anything more than a slap on the wrist.

Lets put you in an airplane, hop you up on some speed, then make it look like someone on the ground is shooting at you, see how you react.<span id='postcolor'>

That's a pretty contradictory sentence. From what i remember the go-pills were optional, and if not, those who forced them on the pilots should be facing a court-martial. Someone should be held accountable. It's becoming more and more apparent that the US has a serious friendly fire problem, and it dosen't seem like there are serious consequences. If not, we're going to keep seeing this "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude.

[FSPilot 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Tovarish @ Mar. 24 2003,09:41)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><span id='postcolor'>

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">That's a pretty contradictory sentence. From what i remember the go-pills were optional, and if not, those who forced them on the pilots should be facing a court-martial. Someone should be held accountable. It's becoming more and more apparent that the US has a serious friendly fire problem, and it dosen't seem like there are serious consequences. If not, we're going to keep seeing this "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude.<span id='postcolor'>

Not the way I see it. It's like someone forcing you to drive drunk, then making you take the heat when you get in a crash. But I don't know if it was voluntary or not. If it was voluntary then yes, it's the pilot's fault. If it wasn't voluntary then I blame the commanders.

[Tovarish 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (FSPilot @ Mar. 24 2003,04:51)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Not the way I see it.  It's like someone forcing you to drive drunk, then making you take the heat when you get in a crash.  But I don't know if it was voluntary or not.  If it was voluntary then yes, it's the pilot's fault.  If it wasn't voluntary then I blame the commanders.<span id='postcolor'>

I'm glad we agree then, they should be court-martialed.

"The current program is strictly regulated — and wholly voluntary for pilots who opt in. They’re first tested on the ground for any adverse effects and must sign a consent form that emphasizes use is a voluntary decision and requires them to acknowledge that “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of Dexedrine to manage fatigue.â€

"

http://www.msnbc.com/news/854560.asp#BODY

[FSPilot 0]

I'm trying to find the US report on the incident, I think that's where I heard the drugs were not voluntary.

edit - </span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/02/mistaken.bombing/

Beck said the Air Force prevents pilots from flying if they refuse to take the pills.<span id='postcolor'>

[Tovarish 0]

You can put any spin on it you want, but the fact is that officially they are voluntary. That's according to the US air force. The pilots made a choice.

[FSPilot 0]

Well I wouldn't call it putting a spin on it. But I guess you do have to take whatever you hear with a grain of salt.

The defense attorney is trying to defend his clients. The PA officer who said that is trying to defend the air force. I wouldn't be surprised if they were coerced into taking those pills, but I don't have the information to find out truly.

[IceFire 0]

They should not get more than a slap on the wrist. At least I hope not.

They WERE forced to take pills. If you don't, you can't fly, and it's bad for your career.

Plus it was an ACCIDENT. ACCIDENTS happen. It's not like they did it on purpose maliciously.

They should not be punished for something they did not intend to do, especially sinse it wasn't really their fault.

[Assault (CAN) 1]

I've talked to a few guys who were there, the CF is a small community. From what I have been told, the Tarnak Farm range where they were at is only a few k's from the Kandahar Air Base, which was lit up like a Christmas tree. That area had been inactive for months. So any "fog of war" excuse won't cut it with me, I've heard too much about it.

It's no surprise the ruling came down just after the war in Iraq started, the news would be effectivly buried in news from Iraq.

The pilots ignored procedure and should be punished, hell, the judge that handed down the ruling said that there was enough evidence to court-martial the pilots, but wouldn't do it. But what has been done has been done, the pilots should at least lose their wings.

Tyler