Myth: Your chain of command says it needs you to explain why your drug test was positive. They want to know what could have gone wrong with the test, because they know you’re not the kind of guy to do drugs. You’re a good troop and you’re sure your chain of command is on your side, so you should come up with some story that might explain how the drugs could have gotten into your system without you knowing about it.

Truth: Commanders will place a lot of faith in the test results, so you should never try to explain your side of the story without the help of an attorney who has a lot of experience with this kind of case. When people in authority ask you to guess what could have gone wrong with your test — or with any allegation of wrongdoing — they could be trying to trap you into saying something they’ll use against you later. If you are told that you have failed a drug test, or are suspected of doing anything wrong, talk to an experienced military attorney before you make any statement.