JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. - –
After a successful first year, the Joint Base Charleston DUI Battle Plan has been expanded to include all JB Charleston installations.
Instead of DUIs only affecting the level of the DUI condition solely on the Air Base, the new plan includes incidents that occur on the Weapons Station as well. Any time there is a DUI on JB Charleston, it will be tracked and counted negatively against the installation, increasing the DUICON.
"The plan has been updated so that Joint Base Charleston's DUI CONDITION will reflect DUIs occurring across the entire joint base installation. I encourage mission partners to consider adopting the JB Charleston DUI Battle Plan or a similar comprehensive alcohol policy," stated DeVore in a recent update to the plan. "A shared policy will ensure all members are aware of leadership's expectations regarding responsible substance use."
The Battle Pan originated in 2009, when Travis Air Force Base began looking at ways to reduce the occurrence of DUIs on base after having the highest number of alcohol related incidents in Air Mobility Command. After implementing the plan, they saw a 42 percent reduction in DUIs during the first year.
The goal of the DUI Battle Plan is to decrease DUIs within the JB Charleston community. To accomplish this goal, the Battle Plan calls for the regular base-wide dissemination of information regarding the number of DUIs the installation has experienced. In order to ensure maximum effectiveness, the Joint Base response is specifically targeted to the number and frequency of DUIs, requiring increases in prevention measures and consequence as the number of DUIs rises above a set of predetermined numbers.
The Battle Plan is broken into three DUICON levels:
DUICON Green is "normal operations." With zero DUIs in a 60-day period, active-duty members will not notice any change to their daily routines. Main points include carrying Wingman/AADD business card, monthly DUI checkpoints at random locations and a display detailing the current wing DUI statistics for the year.
DUICON Yellow goes into effect when the base experiences between one and four DUIs in a 60-day period, or during "high-risk" weekends or holiday seasons. The most notable changes to the plan include an increased marketing campaign for safe/sober activities and a mandatory commander's call in the offending unit within five days of the DUI.
DUICON Red takes effect after five or more DUIs in a 60-day period. At that level, the base will implement all of the DUICON Green and Yellow procedures, as well as initiating a focus group within the offending unit to determine new and innovative ways to prevent future DUIs across the installation.
Statistically, a large number of the Air Force DUIs and alcohol related incidents are committed by underage Airmen. To combat this, JB Charleston pursued a $600,000 Enforcing Underage Drinking Law grant, now called Project STAR, or Safety Through Alcohol Responsibility. Their goal is to reach out to JB Charleston and the surrounding community to identify and address alcohol related problems.
Since implementing the Battle Plan at JB Charleston in 2013, the base has seen a 70 percent decrease in DUIs. The continued focus of the DUI Battle Plan is to help keep Airmen from making bad decisions and keep them focused on making good ones.