Speed With Speed
 

Do the UK Armed forces issue Amphetamines to their troops. This after the US revealed that the crews involved in the 'friendly Fire' incident with Canadian troops had taken this substance prior to flyin.?

My only experience of a 'chemical assist' was during op' Corporate. When the RAF GR3's were flown south the pilots were given 'something' to help them sleep for longer pre their departure (can't remember what it was) . I asked at the time why not amphetimines & was told that the effects were seriously deleterious on virtually 'all' the faculties required to safely pilot a military aircraft.

I don't know what they took but US strategic crews took something to help them with long flights.

Speeding?
 

I remember reading an article about a F15E commander who talked about issuing and using amphetamines during DS1 although I heard the USAF stopped doing it in 1993 for the reasons stated above.

Given the events of this US/Canadian friendly fire incident I hope they will be banned again. There was quite a long discussion on this board about the incident. I don't accept the argument that if they were issued amphetamines they cannot be held responsible for their actions - what is the difference between dropping bombs when high and drunk driving, virtually none I would suggest. If they suspected they were impaired to fly they should have pulled themselves off flight status.

I wonder how much of this is about trying to get the two clowns who dropped the bombs on the Canadians off the hook

The only stuff I personally have seen "legally" dished out is Tamazapan - which is also what I think Aerodyne probably got during Corporate.

Have used it, in the correct dosage it is great - gives you 8 hours out cold at any time and you wake ready to rock and roll for about another 24. Amphetimines really are not the answer.

Just a note Chris , i would not wish to give the impression that i flew as part of Corporate , although i was around when some of the guys were dosed ( nothing worse than a naafi war hero !!).

Tamazapan was approved to combat disrupted sleep patterns in Northern Ireland in the mid ninties, but was rarely if ever taken up by crews. Instead people get b0110xed, and grumpy and the "Can do" attitude prevails. This they still do today!

Tamazapan x 1 would also be issued upon request if you were about to fly v long distance and be expected to fly operationaly soon after arrival. I popped one in a VC10 once the wheels were retracted out of Washington (USA) and did not even wake up upon touchdown at Brize, and I cannot believe that it was because of a smooth touchdown (Beags bait!)

I have never heard of any other medication being prescribed for these issues.

I was one of those who was precribed and took Normison (? spelling) in NI whilst on permanent night flying duties. I wasn't over-impressed with its ability to get me off to sleep and ensure a full 8 hrs sleep though. I stopped taking them because I felt pretty bad for hours after waking up.

The best thing I found was to snip the wires to the Mess Tannoy speaker outside my bedroom door.

It amused me greatly to find the warning label on the bottle which read "May cause drowsiness - if affected do not drive or operate machinery".

Then there was the time I said I was taking one on a cross-Atlantic flight as a passenger. All the crewmen wanted one so I issued them a placebo yellow M&M....they seemed to work quite well for some! ;)

Entered F-4 RTU (USAF) in 1970. Almost on day one of class, the flight surgeon gave us an upper and a downer. Said to take the upper on Saturday mid afternoon, and the downer just before going to bed. Note the reaction, and store for possible future use. That was the only time I took either.

Amphetamines and speed (methamphetamine) aren't quite the same animal. There may be only an oxygen molecule of difference, but it is a significant one.

Amphetamines were dished out to long range bomber crews in WWII and probably to all sorts of other serving personelle. They increase levels of dopamine and noreprinene (think that's how you spell it), meaning that you feel lively and happy, alert, awake, hard to beat, and confident, until they wear off. In the process they burn up serotonin and melatonin, meaning that coming down off amphetamines makes one drowsy, grumpy, depressed, angry, and lots of other bad things. On them you can't sleep, and don't want to; off them, you can't not sleep, etc.

Both amphetamines and methamphetamine adversly affect judgement and physical co-ordination. You probably shouldn't fly on either; on methamphetamine however you would probably be so distracted by wanting to swim the Channel or rape the Swedish Women's Football Team that you would be unable to work out which end of your aircraft was the pointy one.

Safest bet is probably to take neither for any purpose other than recreation, and even then, to only do so with the understanding that overuse of one, and any use of the other, will turn your brain into fried sawdust, however much fun it may be at the time.

Happy thoughts...

Temazipan
 

I was issued with temazipan during op corporate to assist sleeping during disrupted sleep patterns. Then again during DS1. Last year some members of the SH force were issued with same during SSII to help them get to sleep whilst acclimatising to the desert conditions and noise from 24hr ops. only needed 1 per night for a couple of nights. You do tend to wake up refreshed and ready to go for a full day.

I first started using Tamazepam in the late eighties when a very large bottle was kept behind the ops desk and they were handed out like smarties. Great for getting some kip in the PBF during 3 day exercises. However, during a period of extended ops, I found one wasn't enough, so started taking two. Then three...then I stopped before I became a statistic.

Completely banned in any form of civil aviation! :eek:

BA still issue Temazepan to flight crew on request. Quite a few longhaul pilots have them as a back-up. However, you still cannot take anything (drug or alcohol) within 8 hrs of reporting for duty.

Ee, great stuff to go flying on. Who needs an aeroplane?

http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/temazepem.html
http://www.psyweb.com/Drughtm/restoril.html
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/SideEffects/0,3917,639|Temazepam,00.html
http://www.undcp.org/youthnet/youthn...temazepam.html
http://drugs.medbroadcast.com/ASP/Dr...randNameID=323
http://support4hope.com/medications/...m_restoril.htm

I've only used Temazepam once - just before the Gulf War when deployed to Tabuk and expected to sleep 10 yards from 2 huge diesel generators. Took it just before going to sleep in the portakabin, woke up the next day feeling fine, then went flying. However, I wouldn't want to take it again and I've no idea what the effect of Temazepam and NAPs taken at the same time would be...... Nor do I ever want to find out.

nights, and coming on or off them, are a nightmare. Back in the early 90's I ended up with ME through simply trying to do too much. Had to come off shifts for a period to break the cycle of illness out of my body.

Returning to full shifts some time later, I made a concerted effort to look after myself. You have to accept - night work really screws you up, and the trade off is that you have to give yourself a proper work in and work out. Its a pain in the ass when you have things to do with your life, but if you don't it will take years off your life expectancy

There was a piece in the New Scientist back in October suggesting that US Army helo pilots have been trialling Cephalon’s Provigil drug, which allegedly enables flight crews to “stay alert and capable of performing complex tasks for almost two days without sleep.” The tests apparently found that even when the drug wore off, there was no noticeable need for an extended sleep to recover.

Cheers,
T/shaft