Jared Rogers was looking forward to serving his country and pursuing a career in engineering. Then he suffered an injury at football practice.
He was a senior at West Point, the prestigious military academy in New York. A defensive back on the school’s storied football team, the Army Black Knights. And a cadet company commander, a position given to only the most elite West Point students.
He struck a deal to resign from the academy to avoid the prospect of a military trial — and potential incarceration. But there were other consequences. Story continuesRogers’s experience raises questions about how West Point, and the Army at large, deals with cadets suffering from addiction. But his case is complex and polarizing, highlighting the challenges in handling substance abuse in a military environment and eliciting starkly different reactions from addiction experts, Army veterans and former West Point faculty members.
Leo Beletsky, a professor at Northeastern University, said he believes the case illustrates how the armed forces, like many law enforcement agencies, fails its men and women who suffer from drug addiction. “The U.S. Military Academy considers the physical and mental well-being of our cadets to be of the upmost importance,” the spokeswoman said. “When it is determined that any cadet is struggling with substance abuse, we take immediate steps to provide support and assistance through the Army Substance Abuse Program.”Established in 1802, West Point is the oldest and best known of the nation’s military academies.
But, as Jared Rogers learned, when it comes to abusing drugs, West Point cadets can in fact face harsher consequences than Army soldiers. While enlisted service members are likely to receive separation papers and an other than honorable discharge, West Point juniors or seniors in the same predicament face the likelihood they will be forced to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars representing the cost of their education.
Spurred by a series of articles in the newspaper, the Army announced it was shifting oversight of the program to medical personnel. The program had until then been overseen by the Army’s Installation Management Command, which runs garrisons but lacks medical expertise. Lillard, 79, said he still sees several of his former patients free because they have no other access to care.
Rogers, a junior defensive back, felt a strange sensation in his fingers during conditioning drills, but he didn’t leave the practice field. It was only when he got back inside and pulled off his gloves that he realized the condition was serious. At West Point, Rogers said, there was an ever-revolving cast of injured players who had opioid pills on hand to ease their pain.
His addiction intensified in 2015. It got to the point where he needed more drugs than the other guys on the team could provide. There was also something else going on: Rogers was ashamed. “I was the company commander,” he said. “Everybody looked up to me, and here I am addicted to pain pills.” “The goal of the policy is to encourage self-reporting in order to facilitate treatment for those service members that demonstrate potential for rehabilitation and continued service,” a West Point spokesman said.
Giftos said a better approach would be to make it possible for cadets to share their struggles confidentially without fear of repercussions and then provide them with evidence-based treatment for opioid addiction, such as methadone and buprenorphine, as well as ongoing recovery support. “If I couldn’t get opioids, the Adderall would help me relax,” Rogers said. “I’d try to fill that void.”
Rogers was expecting to be allowed to return home. It was the summer of 2016. He had completed his coursework; there was no reason for him to go back to the academy. Rogers relapsed. The Army sent him to a second rehab facility, this one in his hometown of Baton Rouge. But in October 2016, when he was back home with his family, he received a call from his tactical officer. The officer, Rogers said, delivered news that left him stunned and shaken: He was charged with conspiracy to distribute drugs, in addition to wrongful use of a controlled substance.
The charging documents note that each of the five cadets either provided drugs to others or picked them up and brought them onto campus. Rogers wasn’t accused of doing either. The charging documents say his involvement in the conspiracy consisted of him allowing two of his fellow cadets to use his car to purchase drugs and bring them to West Point.
His lawyer, meanwhile, requested that the military grant him a medical or general discharge because of his addiction. They knew it was a long shot, but it would improve his chances of receiving a certificate of academic completion and avoiding a colossal debt. "Undoubtedly, Cadet Rodgers has used this experience to re-shape his approach and emerged a more effective leader. It is my strongest recommendation that Cadet Rodger’s error in judgment as a one time mistake and that he be allowed to continue to serve in our Army at a capacity that far exceeds his peers."
“He knew his classmate was driving the car to pick up drugs that would subsequently be sold, and so he was complicit in his classmate’s crime.” “Ultimately, the academy chose to deal with what was individual misbehavior,” Mayer said. “What concerns me is I’m not sure what they chose to do with the things that pointed a finger at a systemic problem.”
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
Coronavirus Should Be a Turning Point for the Music IndustryIt’s the nightmare scenario that calls the viability of the whole business structure into question.
続きを読む »
This past week signaled a turning point in America's health emergencyCoronavirus drastically altered the rhythms of ordinary life in the US as the scope of the outbreak swiftly changed. Here's how it happened
続きを読む »
5 Numbers Explaining Why This Week May Be A Tipping Point For The EconomyHere are 5 numbers explaining why this week may be a tipping point for the economy: by theothersarahh
続きを読む »
Mom's PSA Makes an Important Point About How Harmful Overbuying Protective Masks IsChristine Fego Martin, whose 10-year-old daughter has cancer, is pleading with people to stop buying protective masks out of fear of the coronavirus.
続きを読む »
Trump’s European Travel Ban Misses the Point, Yet AgainE.U. leaders also disapproved of the travel ban, saying the decision was made “unilaterally and without consultation.”
続きを読む »
Mastercard is developing mobile point-of-sale and digital inclusion solutions - Business InsiderMastercard is working with Paynetics to run a trial of an mPOS solution, allowing merchants to accept contactless payments via Android mobile devices.
続きを読む »