Quote Originally Posted by ganulv View Post
The work of Nicolas Rasmussen, a professor at the University of New South Wales, seems to be a good place to start on the subject of amphetamine use. Here’s a link to a video of Rasmussen responding to some questions regarding amphetamine use during World War Two.

The USAF has issued stimulants to its pilots over the years and afaik continues to do so. I would be interested in knowing whether any of the other branches authorize use (recon units and reactor engineers, perhaps?). In the case of the Air Force the official “why” seems to be as an anti-fatigue measure on longer missions, but I do wonder whether they also see off-label use to improve reaction time and heighten awareness.

I am also curious as to the extent of use of Red Bull/Five Hour Energy time drinks by deployed personnel. Does anyone care to share their observations?
I have yet to see any form of amphetamine or other prescription stimulants being authorized for use by the Army. That said, ordinary stimulants like caffeine and energy drinks are everywhere. When I was in Iraq Rip Its were available at every chow hall though in smaller cans than the industrial sized kegs that one routinely sees on the shelf here in the US.