i know this is a jeep tread but i need help now..army stuff

[jeeper63b]

so where do i start, about a month ago i had a joe who was given tramedol. the soldier that regave it to him asked if he wanted any and he declined. my soldier is on a pain contract and recieves 60 vikes(hydrocodone) a month and has taken them for over a year. mind you he has a very horrible back and knee condition and he needs em to move. so anywho my soldier took a few when he forgot to bring his daily amount to work. a week later him my squad leader and i are havin a talk with our platoon sgt askin him if he had a problem....answer...no. i stood up for him and agreed on my joes side because i know him and his family very well, no addiction issues what so ever. my soldier explained what happened to my plt sgt and he made a deal with him. go self enroll into a.s.a.p to show him he wasnt an addict or abuser. a.s.a.p only takes alcoholics for self enroll otherwise it needed to be command sponsered, my plt sgt wanted it under wraps and signed the form. he went there and now the counsler wants to contact chain of command/docs..etc. he was upset and i dont blame him. so we all had another stupid pow wow. plt sgt told the guy....give your squad leader all your meds and he will issue em out or he will tell the command and will be forced into a.s.a.p.

QUESTION. is it even legal to do this. its the soldiers perscribed meds, he is a grown man with a family and the Dbag who i think set him up isnt in trouble at all. my plt sgt says he is worried about the soldiers health and im not sure but its not addin up. a good soldier has to be babysat for something stupid but i know for a fact we have meth users and Sbags in my unit and they are scott free. is it out of my hands to help the dude? the pill that was given to him wasnt even a narcotic or anything of the sort, the both of em were in the wrong but really. one soldier helpin another and then stabbin him in the back isnt my cup of tea.

what can i do? is there a reg? can legal fight it. the guy made a mistake over 2 months ago and no counselings or nothin was done due to my plt sgt saying he wanted it in house then makes threats? what gives? i asked my squad leader and he gave me the typical army shug and thats that, im his team leader.

[WRIGHT442]

They can if they believe the soldiers health is at risk . We had a guy that had to get his meds from his Squadleader or teamleader , at night and on weekends had to sign for them from the CQ . Given the guy was on suicide watch , but still it fell under the soldiers health was at risk .... well thats my 2cents , as for regs I'm not sure .

[friskeljr]

If its his perscribed meds they cant be taken from him. and that should be taken up the chain, or even to legal or IG. if he needs those meds and there are documented med problems the doc perscribed them to him for pain, and they shouldnt be stopped or taken away by anyone but a medical provider.

[Ghost00TJ]

Legal- for the correct answer (period), sounds like a touchy area to be in as the CoC, hopefully they did like most and check with legal before they acted.

[Jeffb_79]

If I was the guy, I'd tell the "pit sgt" to pound sand.
The soldier is being prescribed this medication by a Doctor (read: doctor, who knows what the hell he's doing and whose job it is to make sure this soldier is being treated properly; not some piece of shit in his chain of command that wants to control his soldiers lives).
I would then contact legal, and talk with a counselor about what steps I would take next.

I'm an asshole, and I don't care whose feet I stomp on... if someone tried doing this to me, I'd be bringing it all the way up.

[mdcmn7]

If you think he is being wrongly accused of something then by all means go to your jag. Can you talk to them for advice without having them go flying up the chain?

My question would be, is the issue here that he took the tramadol, or that he is taking vicodin?

Tramadol (ultram) is technically not considred a "schedualed substance" and is not controlled like narcotics. HOWEVER, in the body it functions similarly to morphine, has addiction potential, and in high doses, or with alcohol can cause people to hallucinate. Anyone who tells you tramadol is no big deal is wrong. It is also a precription med, and giving a prescribed med to someone who has not been prescribed it, is a big issue.

Vicodin is no joke either. It is a schedualed narcotic for a reason. From a medical standpoint there are two sides to this argument.

1. Army life = weapons, heavy equipment, explosives, driving, climbing, etc etc etc. Vicodin = mind altering substance. Vicodin + Army = not good. Remember, if someone had taken a vicodin they shouldnt even be driving let alone soldiering. If someone is injured, and is going to be taking it for a limited amount of time, then it is fine, and that is its purpose. I do understand that people get used to it, and are able to function, but giving them a weapon and allowing them to "function" is sketchy.

2. If a soldier needs two vicodin a day to function, should they still be in the Army? We had a marine in Iraq who had back problems. he had pain meds prescribed and sent to him by a civillian doc, and we knew nothing about it. One day he went to turn his gun turret and ruptured several discs in his back. When he left theater his right leg was paralyzed.

Dont mis understand, I gave these meds to a lot of outstanding soldiers who did their jobs awesome. Its just that there is a huge valid concern with giving these meds out to troops, not even considering an addiction issue and all the shit that goes with that.

To my point, oconus we would control drugs very similarly to how you are describing the control of your soldier. If I gave someone meds for only a few days, I would just give them all the meds and let them handle it. If it was something that would be longer, or if they had been taking them for a while I would either give them a few days at a time, and have them come back for refills, or issue the meds to a squad leader/plt sgt for dispersment. The reason for this is very simple. It lets the leadership know they are on a mind altering med, helps limit addiction, prevents the troop from selling or giving to other soldier, and prevents them from having enough at one time to kill themselves. It also helps to prevent self dosing.

This had nothing to do with the quality of the soldier. I treated one of my very trusted medics the same way. Its about protecting the soldier, the unit, and every troop they interact with.

I dont think that is the answer you were looking for...

[MurdaDock]

I dont think that is the answer you were looking for...

I agree. I think that it is shitty that we have to babysit though. There may be nothing wrong with your kid though. He may be completely responsible, but what you do to one, you must do to all. I think his case needs further evaluation by higher authority. Someone who needs 2 Vikes a day, kinda scary to still be in the Army.

The Army give you Tylenol for cutting off a finger, I don't wanna know what they have to give you Vicodin for