NEW YORK, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A security contractor described his involvement with drugs and alcohol during his Afghanistan mission, adding the behavior was a common coping practice.
Kevin Carlson, 41, a former Special Forces soldier who worked as a team medic for Jorge Scientific, a major U.S. defense contractor providing security for Americans in Kabul, told ABC News the company's base of operations had a "frat house" environment, with drugs and alcohol commonplace.
Carlson was fired earlier this year for violating the U.S. government's "zero tolerance" policy on alcohol and illegal drugs in the workplace, ABC said, noting employees were expected to be prepared in case of attack.
"There's no way, if we ever came under attack, that they'd be able to do anything to repel an invasion or an attack," he said.
Other former employees provided cellphone-produced videos appearing to show key personnel staggering around the operations center, shown on the air in an expose of conditions.
Carlson said the constant partying at Jorge Scientific led him to drugs.
"The longer I stayed there, they kept drinking more. Doing more things that were not normal. Some just childish, dangerous things," he said.
"Clearly, behavior such as described by ABC News is not indicative of the outstanding work that thousands of contract and service members perform every day in Afghanistan," said Col. Tom Collins, U.S. Army spokesperson for the International Security Assistance Force, in a statement.
