FORT BRAGG — More than a dozen U.S. Army Special Operations Command soldiers were apprehended, questioned and released as investigators looked into illegal drug use allegations, officials said.
Two of the 15 soldiers questioned last week were “cleared of any wrongdoing,” according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Michael Burns, who said the investigation is ongoing.
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division apprehended the soldiers “as part of its ongoing efforts to identify and mitigate the use of illegal narcotics,” Criminal Investigation Division officials said in a statement.
There have been no arrests nor charges filed.
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command, which maintains a strict policy against illegal drugs, is the higher headquarters for the Army’s Special Forces soldiers, Army special operation forces and soldiers in support units.
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The Special Operations Command is cooperating with the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Burns said.
He said leaders are taking measures at every level to ensure soldiers’ health and welfare and to reduce harmful behaviors.
A spokesman for the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, which is over the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command, said the command there is also aware of the allegations made against Fort Bragg‘s soldiers. All soldiers have a right to due process, “including the presumption of innocence under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Col. Curtis Kellogg said.
“Illegal activity by any member of the special operations forces community undermines everything we stand for as an organization,” Kellogg said. “Every (Special Operations Forces) member is expected to adhere to the SOF values – honor, courage, excellence, creativity and respect. These aren’t mere words. They represent the expectations of our nation that we have met in the most trying circumstances again and again.”
Kellogg said that “as a professional and disciplined force,” leaders “are committed to addressing harmful behaviors that affect our people – our most important asset – and upholding the high standards of conduct displayed by the vast majority of SOF members every day.”
The Fayetteville Observer
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