JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Discussion on the responsible use of alcohol is always on the agenda when I meet with our Airmen. When will I stop lamenting about this topic? Not anytime soon - the last drunken driving incident occurred on July 28. The danger is ever-present, and I hope leaders at all levels are keeping this topic at the forefront.
July 4, 2009, and Nov 21, 2009, are days that should resonate in hearts and minds of Charleston Airmen forever. Both are days we lost one of our own to a preventable accident. Could we have done more? What would have prevented our Airmen from choosing to drive after drinking too much alcohol? We cannot go back and change the past; however, we can remember the past and learn from it. Airmen at Charleston AFB have amassed 31 arrests for driving under the influence since July 4, 2009, and several of these were with blood alcohol content exceeding .16.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the average BAC among fatally injured drivers is .16. That equates to a 180 to 200-pound person consuming eight drinks within one hour, or half a pint of whiskey circulating in the blood. Long before a person reaches .16 BAC, they would experience emotional instability, loss of critical judgment and impaired perception, memory and comprehension. Under these intoxicated conditions, some of our Airmen make the crucial decision to drive.
I am asking for your help in stopping this. If you see it, please take action to correct the behavior immediately. I applaud those wingmen who have helped alcohol-impaired colleagues, and I ask everyone to recognize the importance of engaging when you recognize a problem exists. Don't look the other way or hope that someone else will take action. We may feel apprehensive for stopping one of our friends, but imagine how agonizing it must be if we fail to initiate this course correction and it results in loss of life or injury to our colleague or an innocent bystander.
We're in the middle of summer and we should have fun. If your fun involves consuming alcohol, then before the fun starts, please have a plan prior to the first drink. A plan means identifying a designated driver or using a cab for your night out. If your plan fails, then there is the very effective Airmen Against Drunk Driving (AADD) program at 963-2233 (963-AADD). These are Airmen taking care of Airmen and are ready to provide a free ride to your home.
Once again, I am asking for your help in enforcing responsible use of alcohol and the prevention of DUIs. Please seek help through your chain of command if you know of an Airman who endangers himself or others by overconsumption of alcohol. You can also send me an e-mail at terrence.greene@us.af.mil or call my office at 963-5497, and we will coordinate the necessary help. Meanwhile, I will continue to keep this as an agenda item and hope that we never have to endure the terrible loss of another Charleston Airman to a DUI fatality.