In this post I wanted to highlight a reality of our industry, and that is the use of steroids. The availability of the substance in places like Iraq, makes it very easy to get into and you see the results of steroids walking around all the time on contracts and at FOB gyms and chow halls. Steroid use is big in the military and law enforcement communities as well, and it is an issue that we all must deal with.
Personally, I don’t use the stuff because I am pretty satisfied with my fitness and body type. But for some guys who want to be big and look more the part of a muscle-bound protector, steroid use and heavy weight lifting is a big deal. Not to mention the massive intake of supplements like protein powders, energy drinks or creatine, along with plenty of gym time on the various FOBs that contractors live at. Like I said, you see a lot of big guys walking around out there.
To me, I could care less about the physical stuff–it is the mental stuff that comes with steroid use that I am concerned with. Roid Rage is of concern to me, because if you are carrying a gun out there and protecting someone, do you necessarily want an ultra aggressive mental element impacting your decision making process during a shoot, no shoot situation?
Now I cannot say for sure that steroid abuse will lead to incidents, because there are no studies directly involving security contractors and steroid use. What I am saying is that if you are taking the stuff, and you are getting into fights all the time, or snapping at people, or extremely irritable, etc. (noticeable mental change), then maybe you should take a pause and ask yourself if you are a liability? During an incident, there is plenty of adrenalin and aggression pumping into your veins to carry you through the fight, and to add even more to that chemical stew is unnecessary and dangerous in my view. You want as much control over your mental processes as possible, and any threat to that control is not cool.
If you are a friend of a steroid user, and you notice that they are mentally changing, then maybe you might want to approach them and give them a heads up. What kind of friend are you, if you just keep quite as your friend turns into a roid raging monster? Let’s take care of our people out there and keep this stuff in check.
I want to be careful with what I am saying too, because I know for some guys, steroids is something they depend upon and are able to use with no side effects at all. It is not my place to preach on what guys should or shouldn’t do to their bodies. But I think if an individual’s use of that substance has become a liability to the team and a threat to the industry, then that is when we should be taking note and trying to police it.
Also, a few of the companies out there actually have steroid use policies, but not because of the health reasons per se, but because of the legalities of the stuff. Anabolic steroids were added to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990. Stuff to think about, if you are contemplating going down this path. –Matt
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In Iraq, Muscle Is a Growth Industry
Security Needs Give Bodybuilding a Lift
By Ernesto Londoño and Saad al-IzziWashington Post Foreign ServiceTuesday, June 10, 2008; A01
BAGHDAD — Younis Imad, 18, started lifting weights at the Future Gym along Baghdad’s Palestine Street a little over a year ago. “I was overweight,” he said, taking a break between sets. “I was very upset about that.” He was also in need of a job.
The gym’s entrepreneurial owner, Ali Torkey, took Imad under his wing, gave him dieting tips and put him on a whey protein regimen. Four months ago, newly buff after weeks of working out, Imad secured work as a security guard at a radio station in Baghdad, a city where improving security is reflected in the revival of everyday activities such as bodybuilding.