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By Emily Russell
Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – Substance abuse can affect the Army as a whole in overall readiness, safety and ultimately, the individual service member.
In an effort to improve specimen collection procedures at Guantanamo Bay, 18 Soldiers attended a five day course, provided by the Army Substance Abuse Program, to receive training and obtain their certification as a biochemical tester, more commonly known in the Army as a unit prevention leader.
Biochemical testing is an important part in preventing military members from abusing drugs and alcohol. It is defined in the unit prevention leader handbook as "the chemical analysis of urine for specific drugs or the analysis of breath or blood for alcohol."
Collection is not as simple as receiving a specimen from a Soldier. It is maintaining a secure chain of custody from the time the specimen is provided, until the moment the specimen is ready to be shipped to the test facility.
"For the safety of the Soldier, it is critical that a proper chain of custody is maintained so there is no question about the validity of the sample," said Irma B. Vasquez, substance abuse specialist for US Army South.
Vasquez, who has been with the ASAP for approximately 18 years, understands the importance of proper collection and handling procedures.
"I look at (urinalysis testing) as individual careers and individual people. That's why the proficiency of collecting these samples and securing the chain of custody is crucial," Vasquez said. "When we have a test we know we do everything possible to ensure its validity."
With the rate of inaccurate biochemical testing on the rise, the ASAP identified weaknesses in the collection process and stepped up their efforts to ensure deployed UPL's are sufficiently trained in the process.
In 2007 Guantanamo Bay saw a rise in fatal and non-fatal discrepancies. Overall, the allowable discrepancy rate is no more than three percent. However, Gitmo saw discrepancy rates as high as 33 percent, fatal, and 94 percent non-fatal.
"The level of discrepancies we have found have made us aware of the tremendous need for well trained UPLs at Gitmo," said Vasquez.
Discrepancies fall into two categories; fatal and non-fatal. A fatal discrepancy means a specimen is completely void and the lab will not test it. For example, a specimen is considered fatal if the social security number on the bottle doesn't match the supporting paperwork. This means the donors bottle may be switched with another donor, whether intentional or not.
A non-fatal discrepancy is tested; however the validity of the test can be questioned because of the credibility of paperwork. If the wrong test code is listed on the supporting paperwork, it doesn't discredit the quality of the specimen, but it does damage the credibility of the paperwork.
"If there is any question whether a specimen has been tampered with or the chain of custody has not been maintained properly, the consequence is the loss of validity during a potential courts martial hearing," said Vasquez.
The ASAP is designed with the Soldier in mind to support Army values, promote readiness and maintain safety.
"The program is not just urinalysis, Vasquez emphasized. "It's prevention, education of risk, substance abuse and consequence."
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2008 15:08 |
| Story ID: | 19919 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 224 |
| Downloads: | 125 |
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