Sailors face hair test for drugs
Navy chiefs are weighing new drug-testing regimes for sailors and have cut opening hours at the base bar after claims of widespread drug abuse at HMAS Stirling.
Vice-Chief of the Defence Force Ray Griggs told a Senate hearing yesterday the navy was considering the introduction of hair follicle testing for personnel in a bid to stamp out methylamphetamine use.
Five junior sailors stationed at HMAS Stirling are said to have taken their own lives in recent years after abusing ice, while one sailor died of an apparent overdose.
Under questioning from independent senator Nick Xenophon, Vice-Admiral Griggs conceded ice users could be avoiding detection with the current regime of random urine testing.
Vice-Admiral Griggs agreed with Senator Xenophon that hair follicle testing could be a more accurate way of catching drug users.
Vice-Admiral Tim Barrett said the navy had rolled out a range of measures in recent years as part of efforts to cut drug abuse.
He said the navy had limited hours at the base bar and moved some personnel out of general housing around Rockingham and billeted them on base. Despite concerns about ice use, Vice-Admiral Griggs said drug use was falling among navy personnel.
In the 2013-14 financial year, 0.44 per cent of navy personnel tested positive for illicit substances.
Several years earlier, 3.5 per cent of personnel were caught using drugs.
The Defence Force tests 25 per cent of personnel for drugs at random.
Concerns about ice use at HMAS Stirling come as the Government ramps up its campaign to combat the drug, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott declaring the epidemic the worst drug problem the country has faced.
It was reported this year that one of the biggest dealers in ice at HMAS Stirling was a chief petty officer who would buy drugs while on deployment in Asia and sell them to junior sailors.
It was claimed sailors were high while manning the combat and safety systems of warships.
Former sailors have claimed that ice was the "drug of choice" in WA and was very accessible in the suburbs around HMAS Stirling.
HMAS Stirling is home to the nation's fleet of Collins-class submarines and frequently plays host to US warships.
