Army ROTC drug test

nelson

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2011
Messages
18
Are all ROTC cadets drug tested? or just scholarship cadets? and when is it done?
 
Are all ROTC cadets drug tested? or just scholarship cadets? and when is it done?
My daughter is an AFROTC scholarship cadet entering her sophomore year of college and has never been drug tested....yet. And she isn't concerned about when/if it might happen. While it may be different for AROTC, if you have to be concerned about drug tests at all then I would suggest the military is not the right fit for you.
Good Luck!
 
DOD does both random and probable cause drug tests, you can be ordered to submit a sample. Link
If this is a concern - avoid military service, the penalties for illegal drug use in the military (especially by officers) is much harsher than the civilian world.
 
Last edited:
Last Saturday we dropped our son off for NROTC Orientation Week at CU-Boulder. The Commading officer informed everyone (scholarship or not) that they will conduct random drug testing. You may or may not be selected. He also said that they screen for prescription drugs - so any prescriptions your cadet takes must be on record with the battalion.
 
Prescription Drugs is an important issue. I don't know how it works, but I would assume the Army/Navy/Air Force wants to know about any and all medications. Lives are at stake. Most if not all physical/mental conditions that require prescription medications would require waiver approval from DODMERB.
 
I agree with everyone here about questioning why the concern. If you are on meds that will be taken into an account for false positives.

I am not sure why anyone would broach this topic, because scholarship or not you should know that this is not allowed in the military.

I bet it is up to the CC to decide if they want to do this. However, once AD they do random urine tests. You walk into the office one day and they say report to XYZ, there you will do the urine test. Think of it like jury duty...you never know if your number will come up, but it will at sometime come up.

P.S. Always remember to work 2 steps in front when it comes to your military career. Once commissioned, some person, a Govt. Agent will show up at your door for your Security Clearance. That drug question will be asked. You will also be asked to give multiple references, and if any of them say "yeah, he tried it, but doesn't do it now" you will be having them dig deeper into your past.
 
Just a quick bit of info. DS joined guard, he was warned not to even take over the counter meds before MEPS (ie Sudafed especially)so keep in mind if you start even a short term med for anything you might want to mention it to someone in the cadre just in case......apparently since sudafed is used in meth production, it will still flag a urine test.
 
Ohio is correct.

NEVER self prescribe drugs. Aspirin is about as far as you should go.
 
alright people, smoked weed ONCE. the week before the 4th of july and am worried that one time will show up if they drug test me when i get to school next week. it's not a regular thing, i haven't even done it again and don't plan on it. i just wanted to know. i'm not going to not join the military because i smoked once. the responses to this post are incredible. you people are shockingly judgemental. and most of you didn't even answer the question! i guarantee i'm not the first 17 year old to try weed and still have a passion for serving my country. WTF is wrong with you guys?:confused:
 
alright people, smoked weed ONCE. the week before the 4th of july and am worried that one time will show up if they drug test me when i get to school next week. it's not a regular thing, i haven't even done it again and don't plan on it. i just wanted to know. i'm not going to not join the military because i smoked once. the responses to this post are incredible. you people are shockingly judgemental. and most of you didn't even answer the question! i guarantee i'm not the first 17 year old to try weed and still have a passion for serving my country. WTF is wrong with you guys?:confused:

nelson, your comments are highly inappropriate and immature. Just know that there is a price to pay for breaking the law. You could be the most patriotic person on the planet, but if you break the law, expect to pay a price for that. No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. And the military isn't looking for officers who don't lead by example.

Your question was duly and properly answered. No one around here will advise you on how to shirk your responsibilities as an officer. One day, you will be called upon to enforce these policies with your soldiers (assuming you've learned from past mistakes and will never, ever repeat them). You need to learn that now, because that is not the type of leader that our military needs. The folks who responded to your inquiry are far, Far, FAR from judgmental. Give yourself an attitude check right now and move on as a future leader. If you are not prepared to do that, move over because there is a long line of folks behind you wanting to serve. Offending folks who are trying to help will get you nowhere -- not here, not in the military, not anywhere.
 
nelson, your comments are highly inappropriate and immature. Just know that there is a price to pay for breaking the law. You could be the most patriotic person on the planet, but if you break the law, expect to pay a price for that. No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. And the military isn't looking for officers who don't lead by example.

Your question was duly and properly answered. No one around here will advise you on how to shirk your responsibilities as an officer. One day, you will be called upon to enforce these policies with your soldiers (assuming you've learned from past mistakes and will never, ever repeat them). You need to learn that now, because that is not the type of leader that our military needs. The folks who responded to your inquiry are far, Far, FAR from judgmental. Give yourself an attitude check right now and move on as a future leader. If you are not prepared to do that, move over because there is a long line of folks behind you wanting to serve. Offending folks who are trying to help will get you nowhere -- not here, not in the military, not anywhere.

i'm honestly not sure which part of my comment was inappropriate, immature, or offensive, maybe you could fill me in on that? i'm simply stating it's unreasonable for people to automatically jump to me giving up a dream of serving as an officer in the Army because i used marijuana once. was it a bad decision? yes. do i plan to make it again? absolutely not. what i'm saying to all those who suggested i take a different route is that it is completely ridiculous to tell me i shouldn't join because i tried it once. how you don't find that to be judgemental is beyond me. quite frankly, i don't recall asking anyone about that. i simply asked if i would be drug tested.
 
Nelson,
Those of us in the military have no use for people who use drugs (including SPICE, or other synthetic/designer drugs) for the simple reason that it impedes performance and puts others in danger. O.K., you admitted you tried it once, and say you will never do it again. However, it is your question about the drug testing itself that bears questioning. You say you are pro-military; you say you are afraid that when you start school next you may fail your drug test. Those statements don't support your committment to the military. Once you committed to the military, it should have been easy for you to say no to drugs. Instead, you decided to try it (for whatever personal reason) and are now worried about the repercussions.

Just lask week our command kicked out 6 sailors for SPICE use. They too, knew the military's rules for drug use, and for some reason, they rationalized that trying SPICE would be O.K. They just found out the hard way that it wasn't O.K. As leaders, we were O.K. with being short 6 sailors rather than keeping these 6 offenders around.

And for a piece of history, in 1981, the year I entered the Navy, was the turning point for drug testing in the military. An EA6-B Prowler crashed on the flight deck of the USS Nimitz, killing 14 sailors and injuring another 45. You wonder how many of those killed and injured were innocent victims of someone else's drug use. So when you ask "WTF", now you know why.


http://www.ehow.com/about_6570374_history-alcohol-testing-job-applicants.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922544-1,00.html
 
Alright, I understand that using drugs is wrong, that's why I'm not doing it anymore. What I don't understand is why people think it's so terrible for me to ask the question. I did it, that's in the past. Whether or not there is a place for it in the military is really irrelevant since I'm done with it. All I really need to know is whether or not I'll be tested when I show up to school next week. Everyone is just giving me information I already have.
 
Nelson,
I think Pima has the correct answer for you. It probably depends on the CC of the ROTC unit. If you were going into boot camp or one of the service academies, I would say you would definitely be drug tested within the first day of arrival. For ROTC, the answer is not as concrete.
 
Everyone is just giving me information I already have.

You used very poor judgement, did not consider the consequences, and are now rationalizing and excusing your own behavior. These are exactly the characteristics that ROTC is designed to detect and 'weed out' :smile:
The past is not gone, it is history, and history has a strange way of repeating itself.

To answer your question directly, it depends on which unit you are in - so you may or may not be tested. The urine test can detect pot usage from a week to about 100 days depending on the amount consumed, and which test kit is used. A couple puffs are gone in a week, a stoner will require 3-4 months to cleanse their system.

The Cadet Honor Code is "We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does."

I answered your question, now please answer a couple for me.
-You will be filling out paperwork that asks about drug use, will you lie?
-Before commissioning you will need a security clearance, will you lie?

If this is a single incident, straighten up and fly right.
 
Last edited:
nelson, your comments are highly inappropriate and immature. Just know that there is a price to pay for breaking the law. You could be the most patriotic person on the planet, but if you break the law, expect to pay a price for that. No one is above the law, not even the President of the United States.

The OP's position is valid. Just because he used it once should not disqualify him. But that's the risk he chose to take - if he is tested and is caught, he will learn that his actions have consequences.

Using the POTUS as an example of not using drugs was a bad choice, as President Obama has admitted to past use of both marijuana and cocaine.
 
Nelson,

Nelson said:
i'm honestly not sure which part of my comment was inappropriate, immature, or offensive, maybe you could fill me in on that?

I think what patentesq was referring to was what you said here:

Nelson said:
WTF is wrong with you guys?

No need to write that. It was inappropriate, immature and offensive. I don't need to be cursed out because you didn't like what you read.

Now back to your point/post.

Yes, I am sure you are not the 1st 17 yo to try marijuana. HOWEVER, if I am understanding your situation correctly, you have already made a commitment to ROTC and the military. That says to me, 6 weeks ago when you tried it, you already knew it was a big NO-NO.

You decided to put your military future in jeopardy. The problem is for many posters you put yourself first and said I am above that code.

Honestly, and I mean this, if you cracked under peer pressure to smoke weed, what is going to happen when you get to college and drinking underage is prevalent? Let me warn you now...kiss your military career goodbye if you are caught drinking underage. Not one branch will look the other way. Most schools have a 0 tolerance for underage drinking, so if ROTC keeps you, the school might not, thus ROTC is gone. If the school catches you they will report you to ROTC, and you better report it to them before the school does.

Nelson said:
what i'm saying to all those who suggested i take a different route is that it is completely ridiculous to tell me i shouldn't join because i tried it once

Please re-read the posts. Not one poster said you shouldn't join. What they said, including me was:

This issue is far from over. You will be asked prior to commissioning if you ever used drugs for your security clearance. You will have to answer honestly and say "yes". Granted you were 17, and they will probably say okay. However, it will be on your permanent security clearance that you said yes.

Additionally, as I stated you will give references, and those references will be asked "Do you know if Cadet Nelson has ever used drugs?" They will answer "yes", so don't even try to say NO when you are interviewed. Reason Why? You will be caught in a lie and now you really risk that security clearance.

I don't know your career plans but DH flew fighters in the AF for 20 yrs, DS will be going to UPT in 2012, both have TS clearance. That form is @50 pages. It will go back to the day you were born. By the time they are done it will be a novel for your biography. It is not something to take lightly.

You made a mistake, you will recover.

Luigi said:
Using the POTUS as an example of not using drugs was a bad choice, as President Obama has admitted to past use of both marijuana and cocaine.

Yes, Obama broke the law, however to compare him using drugs as a young adult and a person who knowingly broke not only the law, but the military regs too are 2 different things to me. I don't think that is a true comparison. Now, if you said Adm. Mullen admitted he did marijuana a few weeks prior to attending Annapolis, I would say that would be a good comparison.

I took Patentesq's post to say that if a POTUS did drugs after being elected and prior to taking the Oath of Office he too would be in trouble, because he knew it was against the law. Nelson, knew it was against the law and could jeopardize his ROTC career, but did it anyway.

SERVICE BEFORE SELF!
 
Last edited:
The Cadet Honor Code is "We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does."

I answered your question, now please answer a couple for me.
-You will be filling out paperwork that asks about drug use, will you lie?
-Before commissioning you will need a security clearance, will you lie?

If this is a single incident, straighten up and fly right.

I have no intention of lying abot anything. That's not something I typically do. I might make a dumb decision every now and then, but I'll tell the truth about it.
 
Back
Top