(Stars and Stripes)

In the previous episode of Military Matters, investigative journalist Seth Harp and co-host Jack Murphy discussed a spate of mysterious, recent incidents at Fort Bragg, including the case of Delta Force member William Lavigne and Army veteran Timothy Dumas, who were found dead on the post in December 2020.

In the second part of the interview, Murphy and Harp delve into the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S. and how it is wreaking havoc in the military and at Fort Bragg, as well as other drug and sexual assault cases out of the post.

Harp said he doesn’t think soldiers are looking to buy fentanyl specifically. Rather, the military has not done an adequate job warning troops about the dangers of fentanyl.

“Like, you think you may be buying an Oxy pill off the dark web; you think you may be getting a tab of LSD from your buddy,” Harp said. “But anything can contain fentanyl.”

He also theorized why there are so many drug trafficking cases coming out of Fort Bragg, including Lavigne and the January investigation of 15 special operations soldiers.

“It's all infantry guys who are probably more inclined to take risks and etc., and also more exposed to trauma, what have you,” Harp said. “It’s also the home of these special operations units, the Green Berets. Also once again, you have much more type-A, alpha, aggressive-type dudes that are that are drawn to that type of work. Same sort of psychological profile, I think, of people that are inclined toward heavy drinking, drug use and the need for stimulation.”

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Follow Jack Murphy on Twitter @jackmurphyrgr and Rod Rodriguez @rodpodrod.

A transcript of the episode can be found here.

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