Better Fighting Through Chemistry? The Role of FDA Regulation in Crafting the Warrior of the Future

Abstract

This paper examines how FDA might respond to attempts by the U.S. military to offer troops an experimental, performance-enhancing drug or medical device to improve alertness, prevent fatigue, and obviate the basic human need for sleep. This paper chronicles military performance enhancement throughout human history, identifies future approaches to military performance enhancement currently being pursued by the American military, and examines the historical relationship between FDA and the military. Based on this historical and policy background, this paper argues that the unique regulatory concerns raised by experimental military performance enhancement technologies will create new strains on the relationship between FDA and the American military.