Airman loses stripes, gains bars in drug conviction

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amaani Lyle
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
People who raise their right hand in allegiance to the military know this promise inherently calls for resolute fearlessness.

Last summer, however, one Airman’s involvement with narcotics made him realize there is a fine line between courage and audacity.

“I just honestly thought I could never get caught,” said 20-year-old Airman Jake Hawkins, formerly a 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron pavement and equipment apprentice, now a Mannheim Correctional Facility prisoner.

Airman Hawkins left his family home in Spencer, Ind., when he was 17 with the same composite of nervousness, excitement and hope shared by many young people beginning their adult life.

“Right after 9-11, I accelerated all my high-school testing so I could finish school early and join the military,” he said. “It was such a great feeling to hear people say, ‘That boy’s doing something positive with his life.’”

Now, one of the last things Airman Hawkins hears each night is the latch of the steel door -- a constant reminder of his imprisonment for the introduction of Ecstasy onto a military installation, as well as illegal use and distribution of the popular club drug.

Following tips from a couple of his friends and a subsequent investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Airman Hawkins was apprehended July 29, 2004, in a dormitory sting transaction with an informant.

While he should have been on permanent-change-of-station status this summer to Moody Air Force Base, Ga., his plans were instead thwarted by what he describes as shuffled priorities.

“I’ve definitely learned my lesson, and my priorities are straight now,” Airman Hawkins said. “I’m all about supporting my family.”

The stakes were much higher than he thought.

Airman Hawkins said his lapse in judgment cost him the opportunity to see the birth of his twin girls this year. His reaction to the conviction seems almost unexpected in light of the consequences.

“In a way, getting busted was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “I still love the Air Force -- I just got involved with the wrong environment, the wrong crowd. I was more worried about myself than my future.”

The Airman said his future seemed, at best, uncertain once Air Force officials became aware of his drug use.

“Airman Hawkins just about came to tears when he realized that this situation was very real, and he could lose everything he held close to heart -- his job, his family, everything,” said Master Sgt. Thomas Bathe, 52nd CES’ pavements and equipment section chief and Airman Hawkins’ second-line supervisor.

“I’m only sorry that when he was first presented the choice to use drugs or not, he didn’t apply the standard of responsibility he’s now brought to the forefront of his life,” Sergeant Bathe said.

This very choice is one that an increasing number of adolescents must make each day. The opportunity to encounter Ecstasy grows in proportion to the staggering rate of its manufacture.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration's Web site, the administration seized more than 3 million pills in 2000, with most of the pills likely manufactured in illegal pharmacies in western Europe. The drug can make its way into the hands of as many as 10 percent of people ages 12 to 24.

“The majority of the world’s Ecstasy continues to be produced in laboratories in the Netherlands and, to a lesser extent, Belgium,” said Steven Casteel, DEA assistant administrator for intelligence. “Given the increasingly global demand for the drug and the high-profit potential derived from its sale, production will likely expand to other areas in the future.”

With Ecstasy being detected in more than 900 urinalysis tests conducted by the Department of Defense in 2001, the numbers show that Ecstasy pills are slipping past the gates of military installations just as easily as they bypass schoolyard fences.

Wherever drugs may end up, Sergeant Bathe said the responsibility is ultimately a personal one.

“After seeing this Airman’s court martial, conviction and confinement, I would tell any servicemember who may be flirting with disaster to check his or her actions against the core values,” Sergeant Bathe said. “The time will come when you’re caught, but ask yourself two questions first: ‘Would my family and God be proud of this?’ and ‘Would I be willing to take the punishment associated with my actions?’”

These actions led up to long days, gang showers, bunk beds and a forfeit of all privacy for Airman Hawkins. With about 12 months of confinement ahead of him before he returns to the civilian world, he stands by his message to Airmen.

“I grew up quickly and learned the hard way,” Airman Hawkins said. “If you make bad decisions, eventually you will get caught. Period.” (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)