2-year probe of rave scene led to 84 military arrests.

Byline: Anna Griffin and Peter Smolowitz

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. _ The drug investigation that led to the arrests of 84 Camp Lejeune Marines and sailors began two years ago when Wilmington, N.C., ravers noticed a few high-and-tight haircuts among a throng of dancing, tablet-popping partyers.

The largest drug bust in Camp Lejeune history closed Wednesday with reminders from Marine leaders that the service is, for good and bad, a reflection of society.

Camp Lejeune is a city of more than 100,000 people, half of them Marines, with its own police and firefighting forces, its own commercial strip and its own struggles with crime.

"A Marine is still a human being. He's going to go out and socialize. And in a few cases, he's going to make a very bad mistake," said Robin Knapp, who supervised the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Code-named Operation Xterminator _ the X stands for Ecstasy, the most prevalent drug seized _ the two-year inquiry was actually a collection of 103 …