Hundreds of
British army personnel are being dismissed every year after testing positive for drugs in compulsory tests, with the number of sackings rising steadily, the Guardian can reveal.
Ministry of Defence data released under Freedom of Information laws shows that about 660 soldiers and reservists – nearly the equivalent of a battalion – were discharged last year after testing positive for illicit substances, mostly cocaine, in the mandatory tests (CDTs).
The sackings followed approximately 630 firings after positive CDTs in 2018 and 580 in 2017. Up until mid-July this year, there were 270 discharges after the mandatory tests revealed drug use, the FoI showed.
It was unclear if lockdown affected illicit drug supplies within the army but it is understood the disruption led to a significant reduction in testing.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were around 80,000 random tests annually; with some service people tested multiple times per year and others not at all. There are currently 79,620 people in the regular army and 29,980 reserves.
