FORT RILEY, Kan. - The pride flowing through Company B of the 101st Forward Support Battalion is palpable. Not only are they eager to serve their country when called, but they take pride in looking and feeling good while doing it.
DUI free for four years until just recently, this unit has had the honor of receiving multiple gold streamers within the Sober Army Bravely Expedites Readiness, or SABER, program, a streamer that is only awarded to units who have stayed DUI free and maintained SABER criteria for two consecutive quarters.
Being the only unit on Fort Riley to have at least one gold streamer, some would say this unit is doing something right, but according to 1st Sgt. Timothy Alvarez of Co. B, 101st FSB, achieving such a standard all boils down to one simple word: trust.
"It's always important to do well because it shows you have teamwork and unity within the unit. It shows our Soldiers, NCOs and officers are looking out for each other," Alvarez said. "If you can build that trust and teamwork, that's a good thing to have."
Most of that trust and teamwork is built up and reinforced by leadership and Soldiers doing what they say they will be doing.
Alvarez explained that every weekend each Soldier in the 87-man unit is asked what they will be doing and given a risk assessment if they plan to go out for drinks in areas such as Aggieville, a local hotspot near Kansas State University.
"Aggieville is a rough spot for a Soldier to go," Alvarez said. "It (the risk assessment) just gets their minds going before they go down there to think about the things that could get them in trouble."
He added that if a Soldier decides to go to Aggieville in the middle of the weekend when they originally hadn't planned to, then it is expected the Soldier will call their squad leader to inform him or her of their plans.
"Every Friday we tell them that if they get into a situation they can't handle then before they get in a car they need to call somebody," Alvarez said, explaining if that trust is broken, it will be hard to regain.
One area of difficulty any Soldier has to face though, Alvarez noted, is the fear of being ridiculed by his fellow Soldiers for getting so drunk that he or she couldn't drive.
"What can happen is when a Soldier gets there they are looked at differently because they did call ... and the Soldier gets beat up the whole way home being told they should have done this or done that. That, again, is a trust issue. They have to know that the person who is coming to get you isn't going to insult you," Alvarez explained, adding that even if a Soldier hasn't assigned a designated driver, they were all given a key chain with the Charge of Quarters number on it as a last resort.
"They always have someone to call," Alvarez said, adding that more incentives against DUIs include weekly drug testing and always keeping an eye out for incidents of alcohol.
"If we find out they are drunk on duty or if they experienced an alcohol related incident then as soon as possible we enroll them in programs to get them rehabilitated. If we can't get them rehabilitated, we remove them from service. We have more resources here for that than off post. It's these little things that help."
Along with unity and trust, Sgt. Jessica Sites, squad leader for 1st Squad, Co. B, 101st FSB, feels pride and not wanting to break the record are the largest motivators to keeping her Soldiers DUI free.
The symbol of a DUI-free unit that has received a SABER streamer is the red "Big Red One" patch Soldiers are allowed to wear on their uniform.
"We are really proud to wear the Big Red One patch. Everyone asks us, 'Why are you wearing the Big Red One patch' You're not authorized.' Well, yeah we are," Sites said proudly.
Sites agreed that the Soldier who breaks the DUI streak has just committed a huge let down.
"I have been here more than four years and I was here the last time we had a DUI incident. Those people were hurting," she said, explaining all anyone has to do is ask for a ride.
"I used to work down in the motor pool down at (Camp) Funston and I would tell people, 'If you need a ride call me. I don't care what time it is,'" she said, illustrating an example of saying she'll do something and actually doing it as a way to build up trust. "I've had people call me from Topeka at 11 o'clock at night. The biggest thing is being able to think."
Building up what is expected can sometimes be difficult to newer Soldiers just entering the unit. The important thing is to instill that pride and trust first thing.
"When I do the in-processing briefs I explain the SABER program and tell them how many days we have been DUI free and give them the numbers to call. Mainly we tell them to call somebody before they do something to stupid," she said, reinforcing her idea that Soldiers must maintain the ability to think.
Though Co. B has received several Gold streamers, it has yet to receive its main goal, and the highest trophy to be received within the SABER program, a Civil War calvary officer's sword.
The sword is only eligible to those units that have received a gold streamer for two consecutive quarters of being DUI free, and a gold streamer is only made available to a unit who has received a red streamer, awarded for one quarter of being DUI free.
Other criteria needing to be met include passing drug testing, meeting the requirement for one hour per Soldier per quarter prevention training, no alcohol or drug related blotter incidents, participating in some alternative activities such as team-building skills, competitive events, alcohol and drug free field trips and more.
Alvarez said he feels fantastic to be a part of the leading unit in the SABER program and to help spread its vision to reduce alcohol and drug related incidents through a spirit of competition and to develop elite groups of Soldiers who are committed to a higher level of personal and professional development.
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