Dr. Kevin McCauley
RTIA Faculty Member
Dr. Kevin McCauley is a non-practicing physician who has worked in the field of addiction treatment for nearly two decades.
Kevin first became interested in the treatment of substance use disorders while serving as a Naval Flight Surgeon for Marine Corps heavy-lift helicopter and fighter/attack squadrons. Due to the Navy’s policy toward treating such disorders as a safety (rather than moral) issue, he witnessed pilots self-report their addiction since they knew they would be treated medically and, once safe to do so, returned to flying status under careful monitoring. “These were charismatic and otherwise highly-capable, self-disciplined pilots who did come forward and ask for help – and they all got better and went back to flying! That just destroyed the prejudice I had picked up in medical school that addicts never ask for help and once an addict, always an addict.”
Unfortunately, the Navy did not have a similar policy for other kinds of addiction, and when he found himself addicted to opioid pain medications following a surgical procedure he was imprisoned by the Marine Corps in solitary confinement, court-martialed, and transferred to the U.S Army’s maximum-security prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Once released, the Navy paid for Kevin’s treatment, for which he will always be grateful.