…As “Go Pills” Fuel Military Pilots
Of course, drugs in the cockpit are nothing new. U.S. Air Force flight surgeons frequently supply amphetamines to pilots for long flights and in demanding combat situations — a practice not without controversy. Also known as “speed,” and, in the military, as “go pills,” amphetamines are considered essential by some in the military to maintaining a top-notch fighting force. Their use was not publicly well-known until the drugs were implicated in a friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan in 2002, in which an American F-16 pilot mistakenly dropped a laser-guided bomb on Canadian soldiers, killing four of them.
Of course, drugs in the cockpit are nothing new. U.S. Air Force flight surgeons frequently supply amphetamines to pilots for long flights and in demanding combat situations -- a practice not without controversy. Also known as "speed," and, in the military, as "go pills," amphetamines are considered essential by some in the military to maintaining a top-notch fighting force. Their use was not publicly well-known until the drugs were implicated in a friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan in 2002, in which an American F-16 pilot mistakenly dropped a laser-guided bomb on Canadian soldiers, killing four of them. According to an ABC 20/20 report, the pilot, Maj. Harry Schmidt, had taken a "go pill" about an hour before he saw the Canadians engaged in a live-fire exercise. Although told by controllers in a nearby AWACS plane to hold his fire, Schmidt was convinced his aircraft was under attack and dropped the bomb.
