The Department of Defense recognized the winners of the 34th Annual Secretary of Defense Community Drug Awareness Awards in a ceremony at the Pentagon on Oct. 17. The Army winners included U.S. Army Garrison White Sands Missile Range Army Substance Abuse Program and the Arizona Army National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Outreach.
Established by the department in 1990, the awards promote outreach and prevention programs within the DOD community. The Community Drug Awareness Awards highlight the best Drug Demand Reduction Program within each military service, the National Guard, Reserve, defense agencies and DOD Field Activities. This year’s nominations focused on efforts aimed at preventing fentanyl misuse.
Andrea Donoghue, DPRR Army Substance Abuse Program manager, noted that “award nominations highlighted efforts and actions aimed at preventing drug and alcohol misuse.” Selection criteria for the awards emphasized innovative outreach initiatives that combined creative digital and traditional methods during fiscal year 2024, including activities for Red Ribbon Week.
During FY 2024, the White Sands Missile Range ASAP engaged in a robust awareness and educational campaign throughout the year at the White Sands Missile Range Garrison and in the surrounding community. The program provided proactive and responsive services to address the needs of both the White Sands Missile Range and surrounding areas, focusing on education, deterrence, prevention, intervention and postvention. Some of the year’s highlights included:
- Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 23–31, 2023): This campaign utilized $3,300 in funding from drug demand reduction sources, benefiting one elementary school and one middle school, while providing drug prevention awareness to more than 280 students and 30 faculty, administrators and staff.
- ASAP Prescription Takeback (Oct. 23 and April 24): These one-day events allowed WSMR community members to dispose of unwanted and expired medicines safely and anonymously.
- Shattered Lives. This program is devoted to educating teenagers about the consequences of distracted and impaired driving, as well as the effects and consequences of poor decision making as it relates to their families and communities. On April 4, 2024, WSMR ASAP set up a drunk and drugged pedal cart track at Centennial High School for its 1,642 students to experience an educational viewpoint of performing acts while inebriated.
“The White Sands ASAP has been very active in the White Sands Missile Range and surrounding community for more than two decades,” said Donoghue. “ASAP engaged in a robust campaign throughout the year to bring the message of preventing substance misuse to our young people on and off the installation.”
After recognizing a need for increased prevention efforts in the state, the Arizona Counter Drug Task Force stood up the Drug Demand Reduction and Outreach team in March of 2018. The DDRO program has operated continuously since that time. While the Arizona DDRO team supports prevention efforts throughout the state, the target audience is 6-12th grade students and their parents, prioritizing high need areas identified through overdose and risk behavior. Their top three outreach efforts included:
- Support of Community-Based Prevention Organizations: DDRO directly supported 29 participating coalitions in the Substance Abuse Coalition Leaders of Arizona with planning and decision making, ensuring prevention initiatives and materials are relevant to youth audience. DDRO also assisted The Substance Abuse Coalition Leaders of Arizona in the development of two new prevention coalitions, providing coordinated research-based prevention efforts to an additional 353K previously unserved Arizona residents.
- Support of Partner Agency Prevention Efforts: In support of the Drug Enforcement Agency, DDRO supported 15 missions including Red Ribbon Week, the DEA Drug Take Back, fentanyl town halls, and Operation Engage. DDRO has worked with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Threat Assessment to develop the Primary Prevention Advanced Course, drawing from advanced military education, to provided key community leaders with experience in application of prevention science.
- Community Outreach and Education included in Red Ribbon Week: During Red Ribbon Week DDRO supported 15 coalitions and agencies at 61 individual events, coordinating prevention efforts with 82 individual community partners, resulting in 8,050 signed student pledges to live drug free, 7,824 students taught, 283 adults taught, and 7,435 prevention material distributed.
“DDRO has proven invaluable in combatting the illicit use of drugs in Arizona,” said Donoghue. “The DDRO program consistently promotes community-based prevention programming in schools across Arizona to increase understanding of the harm associated with substance abuse.
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