Go and no-go pills

In the U.S. military, go pills and no-go pills refers to stimulant medications meant to increase wakefulness and hypnotic medications taken to ensure adequate rest in preparation for upcoming tasks. As of November 2012, medications approved as no-go pills by the U.S. Air Force for aircrew and AFSOC[1] forces include:

Temazepam (Restoril), with a 12-hour restriction on subsequent flight operation
Zaleplon (Sonata), with a 4-hour restriction on subsequent flight operation
Zolpidem (Ambien), with a 6-hour restriction on subsequent flight operation

Go pill

In contrast to the sleeping agents, a go pill refers to a wakefulness-promoting agent used for fatigue management, especially in a military combat-readiness context; this is contrasted with a no-go pill, which is used to promote sleep in support of combat operations. A go pill generally contains one of the following drugs:

Amphetamine (methamphetamine having been used historically, such as during the Second World War), which is a strong psychostimulant drug; no longer approved officially for use by the U.S. Air Force,[2] possibly due to safety concerns brought up in the wake of incidents like the Tarnak Farm incident.
Modafinil, a wakefulness-promoting drug (or eugeroic)[3][4][5]

References

Air Force Special Operations Command Instruction 48-101 Archived June 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, November 30, 2012.
Air Force Special Operations Command Instruction 48–101 Archived June 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (sects. 1.7.4), U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, November 30, 2012.
Bonne, Jon (Jan 13, 2006). "'Go pills': A war on drugs?". NBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
This story was written by Tech. Sgt. J.C. Woodring. "Air Force scientists battle aviator fatigue". Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Emonson DL, Vanderbeek RD (1995). "The use of amphetamines in U.S. Air Force tactical operations during Desert Shield and Storm". Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. 66 (3): 260–3. PMID 7661838.

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[1] Air Force Special Operations Command Instruction 48-101 Archived June 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, November 30, 2012.

[2] Air Force Special Operations Command Instruction 48–101 Archived June 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (sects. 1.7.4), U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, November 30, 2012.

[3] Bonne, Jon (Jan 13, 2006). "'Go pills': A war on drugs?". NBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2024.

[airforcegopills-4] This story was written by Tech. Sgt. J.C. Woodring. "Air Force scientists battle aviator fatigue". Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[5] Emonson DL, Vanderbeek RD (1995). "The use of amphetamines in U.S. Air Force tactical operations during Desert Shield and Storm". Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. 66 (3): 260–3. PMID 7661838.