The award was presented to Shaw by Dr. Les McFarling, Director of ASAP as Part of the Human Resources Policy G1 in Washington, D.C.
"ASAP employees are a very dedicated bunch of people," said McFarling, "It's almost a calling or labor of love for these folks. And this award is a way of providing some high level recognition for those employees. A program like this relies on the support and understanding of the commanders, and she was able to revive the program by going to them directly and explaining the value of the program. It was truly amazing how quickly she was able to turn the program around."
The Risk Reduction Program is a commander's program that focuses on effective use of installation resources and coordinates effort between agencies utilizing the installation prevention team to implement effective intervention to reduce high-risk behavior in Soldiers.
"This award validates all my hard work, and validates what we do here at Fort Bliss as risk reduction," said Shaw. "When we first came on board it was just me and Ms. Ana Gutierrez working with ASAP here, and it was our sole focus to revamp the program. It was tough bringing it from a program that was manned part time to being fully supported by the post commander, who considered the program invaluable, which in turn opened doors to risk reduction. It was like a dream come true to me as this is the work I love," said Shaw.
Prior to Shaw joining the Fort Bliss ASAP RRP team, there was minimal support from the installation command and most brigade and battalion commanders due to their lack of understanding of the RRP.
Shaw served as the Fort Bliss ASAP as the Fort Bliss Risk Reduction Coordinator since November 2007.
Shaw initiated the "team concept" in working with other Fort Bliss agencies in marketing their services to Soldiers and family members and coordinated the efforts of the ASAP team, gaining battalion, brigade and installation support by constantly keeping the commanders aware and up-to-date on the data needed to make the program work.
"We are equally proud of her accomplishments and honored that she is a member of 'Team Bliss'," said Lt. Col L. Dean Sanders, executive officer, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Bliss. "The importance of the program is prevention from the abuse and dependency on illegal substances. This is accomplished through education and counseling by subject matter experts.
We recognize throughout the army that this program is greatly needed, given the operational tempo and the stresses it causes for individuals and their families," said Sanders. "The ASAP program clearly helps soldiers and families as well as addresses a national concern regarding the care of our Soldiers to the point that it adds to our nations strength."
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