Report: Air Force Probing Drug Use

Thursday, January 18th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) â€” Enlisted Air Force personnel working in the nerve center of the nation's missile-warning system and at Peterson Air Force Base are under investigation for alleged drug use, Air Force officials said.

The jobs of those under investigation were not disclosed, but some were removed from sensitive duties or work areas at Peterson and at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said Capt. Brenda Campbell.

The Air Force said the alleged drug use did not breach national security and was not widespread. The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported Thursday that 15 personnel were under investigation.

No charges have been filed and no suspects have been named in the investigation, which involves the use of Ecstasy, LSD and marijuana, Campbell said. She said more personnel could be implicated.

NORAD, inside Cheyenne Mountain, monitors the skies for missile launches and air attacks against North America and tracks objects in space to avoid collisions. Peterson is home to the Space Operations Center, where high-level commanders assess threats and recommend retaliation based on NORAD's information.

``The investigation only involved U.S. enlisted Air Force personnel and it in no way has affected mission readiness or mission accomplishment,'' the Air Force said in a statement issued at Peterson.

Officers, rather than enlisted personnel, hold the most critical jobs at NORAD and Peterson. In a nuclear missile launch against the United States, personnel at NORAD would be in direct contact with the president.

The investigation, which began in June, apparently has no connection with a drug investigation at the Air Force Academy, Campbell said. NORAD, Peterson and the academy are all in the Colorado Springs area.

One academy cadet faces court-martial and nine others have been disciplined on allegations of using or dealing drugs, or knowing about the activity but not reporting it.