HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. - Spring is just around the corner. After months of cold winter weather, soldiers and their families will be out enjoying the warm sunshine and all the beauty and fun the Coastal Empire has to offer. With longer days of sun and fun also comes the increased use of alcohol.
In an effort to proactively mitigate alcohol related incidents, nearly 1000 Soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade attended a class presented by the Army Substance Abuse Program Feb. 28 at Hunter Army Airfield, which is designed to change the way Soldiers view alcohol and the culture surrounding it.
"We wanted to try to shift gears," said David Bennett, prevention coordinator for ASAP. "We've found that the driving under the influence campaigns are working and the DUI rates have gone down. So instead of talking about DUI's, we wanted to talk about alcohol altogether."
Bennett went on to say that the statistics don't lie, stating that 85% of all domestic violence cases in the Army involve alcohol, along with 83% of all assaults involve alcohol as well.
"What we're trying to say is that we know good and well that a lot of Soldiers don't do well when they drink," said Bennett.
The ASAP website states a standard alcohol drink is considered to be one 12 ounce bottle of beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. Moderately used, a safe and healthy limit for alcohol is two drinks a day for men and one drink per day for women and most adults (over the age of 21 years of age).
The problem starts when people exceed the safe and healthy limit, and according to Bennett this can cause a myriad of problems.
"We've seen Families torn apart, divorces, and we've seen people develop alcoholism," Bennett continued. "Most of you probably know at least one person in your life who is an alcoholic."
Spc. Michael Wilkes, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, said that while he would not make the decision to drink and drive, it was still good training.
"It was very informative," said Wilkes. "It reinforced that my decision to not drink and drive is a good one."
One message that ASAP has tried to hammer home is that drinking and driving is not only dangerous to others, but it can really setback your life and ruin your career.
Spc. Joshua Marlowe of Troop D, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, has a friend that had this happen.
"It ruined my friends' life. He lost his job, he had to go to rehab, and it really changed his life," said Marlowe.
Marlowe said he has lost friends to drunk drivers and insists on driving sober.
"As soon as I crack a beer, I hand my keys off to someone who's not drinking," Marlowe said.
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