Cadet 2nd Class Harry T. Vaughn has pleaded guilty to "making false official statements to law enforcement about his purchase and use of cocaine ... and distribution of cocaine," an Air Force Academy news release obtained by Military.com reads.
Vaughn pleaded guilty on Thursday to the federal charge. One day later, he was sentenced to seven days of confinement, dismissed from the Air Force and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine by a panel of eight officers.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency, cocaine is a Schedule II drug, a class defined as “drugs with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence.”
Vaughn’s case is not the only incident involving drug use and distribution by US service members to crop up in the last few years. In August, US Navy sailor Daniel van Dijk was accused of ordering hundreds of grams of MDMA and 93 tablets of LSD with the intent to distribute.
Last year, 15 US Navy sailors were accused of operating a drug ring that primarily trafficked LSD and ecstasy out of USS Ronald Reagan between January 2017 and February 2018 while the ship was stationed in Japan. Five of the 15 sailors faced court-martials, while 10 received nonjudicial punishments. Four sailors had pleaded guilty as of February 2019, according to a report by Stars & Stripes.