In 1984, I participated in a marijuana urinalysis test. I later discovered that the contracted laboratory did not properly test the sample.
e lab simply reported my sample as positive. (Note: Prior to this I had been the recipient of the highest security attainable.) At the time of the test, I was the COSMEC custodian for the entire Fort Sill military installation and the school instructor for the basic officer’s course and the advanced noncommissioned officers course. None of those titles prevented the army from extremely demoralizing me. I was forced into bankruptcy; lost my house, family, and cars; led to the front gate of Fort Sill; and told to never return. I am originally from Charleston, South Carolina. Two days after I got to my parent’s home, a letter was received from the paid attorney, informing me that the army wanted to reinstate me. My father died two weeks later. As I later discovered, it was impossible to litigate a case against the government if they are willing to reinstate you.
is was probably the reason why while I was charged with gross misconduct. I was given an honorable discharge. Against my mother’s wishes, I reentered the army eight months later and was assigned the position of assistant to the Inspector General for the 197th Infantry Brigade in Fort Benning, Georgia. I performed in this capacity magnificently. After two years, I was instructed to attend the IG school at Fort Belvoir, and after three days there, when a required background check was done, I learned that the army left derogatory information in my files, which would have caused me to be washed out before retirement.
is had a snowball effect on my career, and I was soon after discharged again for financial misconduct. Since then, my mother passed on, and I have been in a horrific accident that caused me to lose my left eye, and I became homeless for several years.