The latest statistics on US troops killed by fentanyl - which doubled between 2017 and 2021 - should be a clarion call that President Joe Biden's border policy is a national security disaster. Sadly, the upward trend is consistent with fatalities across the country since Biden's open-border policy has been in place. The total amount of fentanyl being illegally brought into the United States reached 12,500 pounds in the first four months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, according to the latest US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) records.
By contrast, there were 14,700 pounds of Fentanyl brought into the United States illegally in all of FY2022. At the current rate, fentanyl crossing will be 37,500 pounds, or more than a 255% increase. So, if this is the amount being seized, how much is making it passed the CBP agents? Why should anyone be surprised when statistics show overdoses of the killer drug have ballooned in the US Armed Forces? And there is ample evidence that the culprit is Biden's wide-open border.
DOD Not Addressing the Fentanyl Problem
To make matters worse, it seems the Department of Defense (DOD) is not effectively addressing the menace of fentanyl-laced drugs and resulting overdoses. Consequently, more military members are dying. In a recent Military.Com article, Kelsey Baker wrote:
“It's estimated the opioid crisis will kill 1.2 million Americans in this decade alone. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49, outpacing even suicide. While the suicide epidemic within the military is well-known, it can be tougher to spot how the national opioid crisis is reflected within the ranks. The military seldom acknowledges deaths due to ODs [overdoses].”
The growing problem among military members of fentanyl poisoning is a bipartisan concern. In September 2022, Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Edward Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III expressing their alarm at the increasing numbers. "The deaths and non-fatal overdoses at Fort Bragg, Fort Bliss, West Point, and in states with high military populations like Alaska, involve opioids and, more specifically, Fentanyl, consumed intentionally and unintentionally," the letter read. "These incidents represent the continuation of a persistent and troubling pattern."
Fentanyl Deaths Show Trend Upward
(Photo by Mindy Schauer/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
"Fentanyl was involved in 88% of the deaths of service members who overdosed on illicit drugs in 2021, a steep increase in five years, according to Defense Department data provided to Congress … Five years ago, the synthetic drug was involved in 36% of troop overdose deaths, according to Pentagon data," Rose L. Thayer explained, writing for Stars and Stripes. Looking at Center for Disease Control and Prevention data across the United States for synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, overdose deaths in 2020 were 57,834. In 2021, the first full year of the Biden administration's lax border controls, overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl were 71,238, or a 23% increase. As the US military reflects more of the values and behavior of the American population generally, it will be subject to the same social and behavioral trends.
Overdoses from fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs are thinning out the military at a time when keeping the ranks full has been a challenge. The current trend is a national security threat striking our young soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and Guardians. Controlling America's borders to keep out the flow of deadly drugs must be a priority.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliation.
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