FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Jan. 15, 2015) -- Driving while under the influence of alcohol may not only be risky behavior, it also may severely affect the career of Soldiers and DOD civilians.
Jacob White, Fort Jackson Police Station commander, said driving while under the influence results in the loss of multiple privileges.
"South Carolina leads the nation in deaths by drivers under the influence," White said. "If (drivers are) caught they could lose their driver's license. If they refuse to take the alcohol test they will receive an automatic six months loss of driving privileges."
Nick Walters, a statistician assistant with the Department of Emergency Services, said the legal alcohol blood content for South Carolina is 0.08 percent.
"However, anything under the legal limit is still considered driving with unlawful alcohol concentration," Walters said. "If the offender is a Soldier (he or she) can lose rank, money, duty position. The Soldier has a lot to lose because it's (his or her) career.
"The post commander has a zero-tolerance policy on drinking and driving so if you're an offender you're pretty much guaranteed a general letter of reprimand in your personnel file," Walters said. "The Soldier can also face federal magistrate court action."
White said the punishment is nearly the same for civilians who are caught driving under the influence on post.
"The punishment may vary based upon the civilian's directorate's decision on how to punish the individual, but overall the punishment is left up to the judge," White said.
Walters said DUI laws set a parameter for offenders.
"For example, based upon the charges, the offender can receive a fine of up to $1,000 or jail time up to 30 days and/or not to exceed a certain number of days," Walters said.
Walters said the zero-tolerance policy for DUIs helps improve the Fort Jackson community and the surrounding communities.
"If we can keep (our) community safe this will only help those outside the gate as well as inside the gate," Walters said. "Our goal is zero DUIs across the installation."
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