European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Getting a kick from caffeine by Karen Klinger United press International Offee has been one of the world s most popular drinks for centuries but does the Appeal of the brew lie mainly in its taste or in the caffeine kick a recent study suggests that for  portion of Coffee drinkers the caffeine is the Appeal even if the stimulant produces Adverse Side effects such As trembling hands and withdrawal headaches. The results of a trial involving 22 Coffee Imbi Bers found that some exhibited Quot common signs of drug dependence . They self administer Coffee for the effects of caffeine and experience withdrawal symptoms when they Stop said or. John Hughes of the University of Vermont in Burlington. On the other hand the study did not demonstrate that Coffee drinkers show other classic signs of substance abuse such As unsuccessful efforts to Cut Down or Stop caffeine use Hughes and co researchers reported in the archives of general psychiatry. Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant that is found in Tea leaves Kola nuts and Cocoa Beans As Well As Coffee Beans. It is the most widely used so called Quot psychoactive readers action line accrued leave from service in the desert my question concerns accrued leave during operation desert shield storm that exceeds 60 Days As of oct. 1 my unit received a message that said All accrued leave in excess of 60 Days will be lost if names were not submitted by july 3, i assume to finance. I was under that Assumption that we had time to use our excess leave a up to three years upon our return to our Home station i am due to pcs permanent change of station soon and i May or May not leave prior to oct 1. Will i in fact lose my leave it is not my fault that my leave is in excess. Staff sgt. Bracken Brewer Katterbach Germany a sgt. 1st class Ronald Flynn staff finance no office of the Deputy chief of staff resource management he Usa eur replies special leave accrual for fiscal year 1991 by 91 is an important concern of Many Usa eur soldiers. Under Normal circumstances leave in excess of 60 Days at the end of the fiscal year sept. 30, 1991 is not carried Forward to the new fiscal year. Currently Federal Law and Dod directives permit special leave accrual under special circumstances when the following conditions Are met 1. Deployed for a lengthy period away from Home station 2. Deployed to meet contingency operations of the United Stales. 3. Deployed to enforce National policy of an International agreement based on a National emergency or in the need to defend National Security. A. Deployed status precluded the Soldier from taking leave through the end of the fiscal year. Soldiers who Are or were deployed Lor operation desert shield storm or operation provide Comfort during by 91 have met conditions 1-3. However condition 4 May not have been met. Special leave accrual May not apply to soldiers who have redeployed and have sufficient Lime remaining in by 91 to use accrued leave. Soldiers who remain deployed to Southwest Asia during most of the fourth Quarter of by 91, would meet All criteria. Authorization for special leave accrual for by 91 can drug Quot in the world with an estimated 89 percent of adults in North America consuming either Coffee or Tea daily Hughes noted. Caffeine affects the body by stimulating the adrenal glands to release the hormones adrenaline and. Noradrenaline which boost the activity of cells in the brain the heart skeletal Muscles and kidneys. Not everyone who drinks caffeinated Coffee experiences Side effects but people who regularly drink four cups a Day or More often build up a tolerance to the stimulant that can Lead to withdrawal symptoms such As headaches if the Supply of caffeine is Cut off the participants in Hughes study All regularly drank Between three and seven cups of Coffee daily. During the six week trial they were Given decaffeinated Coffee one Day each week followed by one Day of Coffee containing 100 milligrams of caffeine in each cup. After the no caffeine and caffeine Days they Pertt two More Days. Each week with Access to Coffee with and without caffeine. The researchers said the object was to see whether the participants showed caffeine withdrawal symptoms on the Day they had go without the stimulant and How Many drank caffeinated Coffee when they had a Choice of brews. Hughes found that on the Days they were deprived of not be obtained until after sept. 30. Requests for special leave accrual for by 91 must be sent through command channels to a per com after the end of the current fiscal year. The maximum number of Days that can be carried Forward to the new fiscal year with special leave accrual is 90 Days the Normal 60-Day carry Over at the end of fiscal year plus 30 Days of special leave accrual. The special leave that was carried Over must be used before the end of the third fiscal year following the fiscal year earned. In addition leave accused each year must be used to the extent that leave balances on sept. 30 must not exceed 60 Days of Normal leave plus any accrued special leave. Commanders Are encouraged to Grant As much leave As possible to prevent their soldiers from losing leave at the end of by 91. Random urine testing in the air Force in the past six months my husband 42 years old has been tested for Quot Golden flow Quot random urinalysis six times. Our Friend 26 years old who is moving after. Two years Here has never been tested. My husband is not under any investigation suspicions has no usage history and  use any illegal substance. My questions and concerns 1. Are there no controls on who has been tested How Many times and when 2. How can Quot random testing Quot utilizing social Security numbers if the balance is one person tested six limes a another Zero times be reliable and Cost effective in finding users abusers. 3. Why  shift workers be Given one Day notice drugs Don t leave your body within 24 hours and shift workers could adjust their sleep or plans after mid shifts or for their Days off improving safety morale and possibly members finances. Shona c. Shows Hahn a Germany Eli. Col. Robert b. Brady directorate of social actions he Safe replies thank you for the Opportunity to respond to your questions about the air Force s random urine testing program the objective of the urine testing program is to ensure a viable program exists to assist commanders in caffeine those studied showed symptoms including drowsiness fatigue and headaches significantly More often than on the caffeinated Coffee Days. Conversely on the Days they drank Coffee with caffeine the participants were More Likely to have trembling hands As Well As anxiety muscle twitches the need for frequent urination restlessness sweating and ringing in the ears than on the Days without caffeine he said. Despite the Side effects the caffeine apparently induced on the Days they had a Choice of coffees 10 of those in the study consistently picked the caffeinated Coffee the researchers found. The rest however did not always pick the Coffee with caffeine even though they Quot stated that they drank Coffee for the effects of caffeine Quot Hughes said. He speculated that for these people the Choice of caffeinated Coffee might depend on factors such As whether they were fatigued or needed to perform in a Way that caffeine stimulation could help he  that participants who developed headaches when they went without caffeine were More Likely to drink caffeinated Coffee when Given a Choice. The researchers acknowledged that the question of whether caffeine use can be seen As a form of drug dependency has been and will continue to be controversial. Deterring substance abuse amount our service members. Each base through their respective substance abuse control committee acc determines what methods will be used to conduct random selection of personnel assigned to their base. The base staff judge advocate oversees this process to ensure it is random and legally sufficient. A afr 30-2 social actions program and afr 160-23 drug urinalysis testing program state Quot commanders will ensure All military personnel Are  to testing. Regardless of rank status or position Quot a other words every Blue Suiter,.from the newest airman Basic to the most senior officer assigned is subject to testing at any time. No one is exempt. Every time the selection of those to test is accomplished All personnel assigned to the base or unit have an equal Chance to be chosen. This fact is what makes the program an effective deterrent against drug abuse. Under random testing there is the possibility one person like your Friend May not be selected for Many months. Likewise it is possible someone like your husband May be selected More than once in a Given month or several months in a Row. Like your husband my Boss knows about being selected several months in a Row because of the varying retention times of some of the drugs we test for notification of those selected to test must be kept to an absolute minimum. No More than two hours is recommended to ensure detection of All types of drugs under various circumstances the urinalysis testing program is the commanders greatest tool to deter drug abuse Over the years since we have begun urine testing in the air Force the value has been proven by the continuing decline in drug abuse. We Are very aware of the inconvenience associated with this program and realize some sacrifices Are made by our military members when meeting this requirement. To write us -1 readers action line is the readers a court of last resort a a striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other. Avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211. Alt letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers Page 18 a the stars and stripes Friday August 30, 1991