In World War II, soldiers on both sides were given speed tablets to
keep them awake and alert in the field of battle. Despite what scientists
now know about amphetamines and their negative side effects, some soldiers
today are popping pills to fend of fatigue.
Pilots in the United States Air Force, for example, are given dextroamphetamine
and Modafinil when they don’t have the opportunity to get a good
night's rest and are faces with an important mission. In 1992 the Air Force
ended its policy of providing stimulants, but that policy was changed after the bombing of Afghanistan began.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has even noted a few snags in
the plan, including addiction, aggression, anxiety, hallucinations and
paranoia, to name a few. For side effects such as insomnia, the military
provides “no-go” pills that include the sleep aid temazepam
to take after the “go” pills. Instead of dropping the pharmaceutical
aids all together, it appears as though the working consensus is to keep
tweaking the drugs and doses until the perfect combination is found.
Still, the military hasn’t quite yet worked out how to keep the
psychological problems soldiers often acquire at bay. With more and more
soldiers getting diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
political propositions like the Psychological Kevlar Act have been popping
up, which would enable the Secretary of Defense to put “preventive
and early-intervention measures” into effect to protect soldiers
from “stress-related psychopathologies”.
Suggested drugs that the Psychological
Kevlar Act could employ include beta-blockers like propranolol. Informally
known as the “mourning after pill”, it is cheap, readily available
and well tolerated when ingested. Taken immediately after a particularly
harrowing event, it has been shown to suppress the physiological process
that makes bad memories.
Experiment with modafinil in rat brain simulation of PTSD
Modafinil as a Stimulant for Military Aviators.
