Eighteen USS Vincennes sailors determined to have used illegal drugs have been jailed or discharged from the U.S. Navy since June for drug offenses.
“In accordance with Navy’s zero-tolerance policy on illegal drug use, Commander U.S. Seventh Fleet has an aggressive detection and enforcement program,” stated Cmdr. Scott Gureck, a 7th Fleet spokesman, responding Thursday to an e-mail news query.
“Drug use will simply not be tolerated in the Forward Deployed Naval Force, and those who use drugs should know that they cannot ‘beat the system,’” he noted.
Investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from Japanese investigators, initiated an investigation based on a tip they received in June that one or two Vincennes sailors were using drugs, he stated.
“The majority of the illegal drug use occurred off base. In one instance, two sailors used drugs while the ship was under way, endangering other crew members and potentially affecting the ship’s readiness,” Gureck stated.
“No accidents or injuries have been linked to the drug-use cases,” he added.
The NCIS investigation ultimately uncovered evidence that 19 sailors used marijuana, cocaine and designer drugs such as Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine). The Navy declined to provide the names of those involved.
“Eighteen of the 19 Vincennes sailors were found guilty of illegal drug use. Two sailors involved in trading drugs with other crewmembers were convicted at courts-martial” in June. “Both served a term of confinement,” Gureck wrote from the USS Blue Ridge, Seventh Fleet’s flagship, while it was under way near Saipan.
“The remaining sailors were processed for administrative separation from the Navy. They all received less than honorable discharges. In fact, 95 percent received an Other Than Honorable Discharge, a black mark on an individual’s record with a lifelong career-limiting impact,” he stated.
An other than honorable discharge is the most severe of administrative discharges, according to a Navy judge advocate general online checklist, levied when a sailor commits “one or more acts that constitute a significant departure from the conduct expected from members of the naval service.”
Initiating an NCIS investigation is one of several actions taken by 7th Fleet in enforcing the Navy’s zero-tolerance policy for illegal drug use.
Other actions include more random urinalysis testing, better test monitoring and sequestering individuals selected for testing so they are unable to take actions to counter the testing, the spokesman stated.
“The commanding officer has been, and will continue to conduct random urinalysis to the maximum extent allowed: 40 percent of the crew per month,” Gureck stated.
Lt. Cmdr. John Maksym, Yokosuka’s military judge, dismissed one of the Vincennes cases in October after deciding the ship’s commander might not be sufficiently “neutral and detached” to preside over post-trial proceedings, according to a previous Stars and Stripes report.
“Judge Maksym sent the case to Rear Adm. James Kelly, Commander, Carrier Strike Group 5, of which the Vincennes is a part. Rear Adm. Kelly has since decided to administratively separate the sailor from the Navy,” Gureck noted.
“There will always be a small percentage of sailors who think they can use illegal drugs and not get caught,” he stated when asked why one ship has so many offenders.
“The fact is that sailors who choose to use illegal drugs will be caught,” he added.
The investigation into the source of the drugs continues.
Nancy Montgomery contributed to this report.
