Journal and Courier from Lafayette, Indiana • 7

nets" wwwjconlinecom Journal Courier Sunday April 22 2012 A7 Data give snapshot of drug trade in war zone By LOLITA BALDOR The Associated Press WASHINGTON The US Army has investigated 56 soldiers in Afghanistan on suspicion of using or distributing heroin mor phine or other opiates dur ing 2010 and 2011 newly obtained data show Eight soldiers died of drug over doses during that time While the cases repre sent just a slice of possible drug use by US troops in Afghanistan they provide a somber snapshot of the il licit trade in the war zone: young Afghans peddling heroin soldiers dying after mixing cocktails of opiates troops stealing from medi cal bags Afghan soldiers and police dealing drugs to their US comrades In a country awash with poppy fields that provide up to 90 percent of the opium the US military struggles to keep an eye on far flung troops and moni tor for substance abuse US Army officials say that while the presence of such readily available opi um the raw ingredient for heroin is a concern opiate abuse has not been a perva sive problem for troops in Afghanistan have seen sporadic cases of it but we do not see it as a widespread problem and we have the means to said Col Tom Col lins an Army spokesman The data represent only the criminal investigations done by Army Criminal Investigation Command involving soldiers in Af ghanistan during those two years The cases there fore are just a piece of the broader drug use statis tics released by the Army this year reporting nearly 70000 drug offenses by roughly 36000 soldiers be tween 2006 2011 The num ber of offenses increased from about 9400 in 2010 to about 11200 in 2011 The overdose totals for the two years however are double the number that the Defense Department has reported as drug related deaths in Afghanistan for the past decade Defense officials suggested that ad ditional deaths may have been categorized as or were still under investi gation when the statistics were submitted The data were requested by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch and obtained by The Associ ated Press The Navy Air orce and Marine Corps have not yet responded to the request for similar information The Army reports blacked out the names of the soldiers who were under investigation as well any resolution of their cases or punishments they may have received Association seeks help for vet beaten in robbery ByrWUGREY The (Cla'kwille Tenn Leaf Chronicle ORT CAMPBELL Ky The 101st Airborne Di vision Association is ask ing its members and other Screaming Eagles veterans to step up and help one of their own a 90 year old Day veteran who nearly died as a result of a brutal home invasion last month Bob Strait of TUlsa Okla was hospitalized af ter a vicious March 14 rob bery that killed his wife 85 year old Nancy Strait She was beaten and raped in the attack The couple who met on a blind date on Thanksgiv ing Day 1946 had been married for 65 years Police have one suspect in custody but they believe as many as four others took part in the home invasion One of the daugh ters Lenore Gay said the investigation is ongoing TO DONATE Send checks to the Nancy Strait and Bob Strait Support Trust co Arvest Bank Tulsa Branch 502 Main St Tulsa OK 74103 Please include on the check's memo line that is for the Straits' account but she is unhappy that TUlsa policehave mustered nowhere near the resourc es in her case as those applied to a national ly reported shooting spree in TYilsa that occurred at around the same time Gay said she is grateful for any financial help on behalf of her family She also has asked mem bers of the 101st Airborne Division Association to contact Tiilsa Mayor Dew ey Bartlett and ask that a task force be set up imme diately to find the remain ing suspects still at large in her case ELIMINATE CLOGGED AC DRAINS bryantlraw 1 i 1 SA ilrrrJ Heatmg A Cooing System JC 00001 92075 GUARANTEED all season! 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