Special Operations Command Begins Research on Performance-Enhancing Drugs

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Special Operations Command confirmed that it has begun researching the impact of performance-enhancing drugs and nutritional supplements to improve the performance of its forces, according to several officers.

SOCOM, which oversees the special operations forces for the Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force, said it is now working with Department of Defense research partners to develop new medicines, supplements and technologies that can sustain troop performance beyond normal human limits.

“We are in the initial stages of researching safe and effective solutions to maintain peak performance of our operators throughout their careers,” said SOCOM communication officer Phillip Chitty.

The Uniformed Services University, the federal government’s health science university, confirmed that it was assisting in researching nutritional supplements, but would not comment on the specifics.

The drugs or supplements could be particularly effective in areas and situations in which humans are not ableto perform at their strongest, such as under water or in high-altitude environments. Some analysts said the drugs could also be used to aid troops’ data analysis capabilities.

“Most data analysis in the military is done by humans who have human folly,” said Adam Routh, a defense strategies research associate at the Center for a New American Security, during a presentation last month. “That’s why performance-enhancing drugs, combined with things like synesthetic biology and brain computer interfaces, can help.”

As an example, Routh said the military would benefit from drugs that reduce eye soreness from staring at screens for long periods of time.

SOCOM expressed interest as early as last May in the idea of  researching performance-enhancing drugs, but did not confirm until now that the research with Defense health partners was actually underway.

“If there are…different ways of training, different ways of acquiring performance that are non-material, that’s preferred but in a lot of cases we’ve exhausted those areas,” Ben Chitty, senior project manager for biomedical and human performance at SOCOM, told DefenseNews in an interview at the time.

“If there are things in the nutraceutical realm that are available, those are good in the sense that it’s not a new drug that’s being developed. If the best thing for our folks is a pharmaceutical then we’re interested in understanding what’s the space that industry and academia can provide for us,” he continued.

The military has given soldiers drugs—generally stimulants—to improve performance in past conflicts. During World War II, soldiers received Benzedrine, which contains amphetamines. During the Vietnam War, soldiers were prescribed Dexedrine, which has nearly twice the dose of amphetamines as Benzedrine. A 1971 report from the House Select Committee on Crime revealed that the armed forces consumed a total of 225 million stimulant tablets between 1966 and 1969.

Some troops expressed concerns that introducing any drugs—even those regulated and approved by leadership—into the ranks, saying they could have unintended consequences and cause abuse and addiction.

“I’m sure some [drugs] would help, but I believe in the current climate of the military but I believe any substances like that would be misused and/or abused, ending in negative results and hurting our ability to do our job of fighting wars,” said one lance corporal in the Marine Corps who wished to remain unnamed.

While he noted that he and other Marines had a long list of ailments that could possibly be alleviated with medicine or supplements—from nerve damage to body dumbness to blood pressure to trouble falling asleep— he pointed to the psychological effects of drug use on many Vietnam veterans and their high rate of suicide, which he said made him wary of introducing any new drugs.

“Back in Vietnam, a lot of service members did drugs to try to help cope with their experiences over there, and it appears to be catching up with them,” he said.

But Phillip Chitty noted that SOCOM currently prohibits the use of any performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, and that any new drugs introduced would be thoroughly researched by both the military and its partners for safety and potential side effects.

“We will continue to work with Defense health research partners to expand our understanding of the risks and benefits of these technologies,” he said. “Once we have identified a safe and effective means of increasing our operator human cognitive and physical performance, we will develop a fielding strategy that optimizes the benefit to the operator while minimizing risk.”