Military Review English Edition November-December 2014 | Page 96

time or space; the labeling of nodes that have previous drug use or distribution histories; and adding nodes for all network members’ noncommissioned officers (NCOs), depicting each suspect’s geodesic distance from formal NCO supervision. The amount of information that one can collect and illustrate using SNA techniques becomes a function of the time, patience, and—ultimately—the goals of the commander. In this real-world illustration, some of the observations the command teams gleaned from the SNA exercise included data that could not be easily deduced or inferred from the sworn statements alone. For instance, the commanders were able to note that— Aran was buying from three different sources, which suggested significant dependency, and that cutting his ties to any one of the sellers would not significantly disrupt his use. Seven soldiers from one platoon were implicated as buyers or sellers of the drug, suggesting that NCO and officer leadership were either negligent or derelict in enforcement of good order and discipline, or possibly that they knew of the misconduct already but chose to ignore it. There was no single cutpoint in this network of sellers (i.e., removing only one seller would not substantially diminish the availability of the drug from other sources within the company). Available evidence showed that five soldiers had an in-degree value of at least 2. This suggests methamphetamine use was a social activity engaged in by multiple personnel within this network. Aran, despite buying from three sources, was never observed using the drugs, suggesting he was a more isolated node. Neebles had a high in-degree (by purchase) and the highest out-degree (by observation of others). Fells and Neebles each witnessed sixty percent of the network using methamphetamines. With this rich portrait of the social relationships among the suspected users and sellers, the battalion and brigade commanders were able to make disciplinary choices that more aptly and more precisely accounted for considerations of rehabilitative need and the various scales of criminal culpability for each individual in the network. Some were obviously more central to the use and distribution of the drugs than others, and the type of discipline imposed accounted for relative passivity • • • • • • • 94 of occasional users or the critical role of brokers of this resource between other soldiers across the unit. Employment Considerations Case-by-case circumstances compel how, when, and if certain military justice options should be used. That calculus is equally appropriate for the choice to employ SNA as a methodology, and it should remain within the judicious discretion of the commander. Admittedly, the drug distribution ɥ