April 7, 2005
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AFPN) -- The
0-0-1-3 program here began one year ago as a reaction to a
national health crisis. Binge drinking, underage drinking
and driving under the influence had become all too common.
“(Alcohol) has affected every community every campus
(and) pretty much every place that touches lives across the
nation,” said Col. Evan Hoapili, 90th Space Wing commander
here. “As a military, we represent the society we serve.”
For that reason, base officials, with the help of Wyoming
first lady Nancy Freudenthal and a nonprofit organization
called Facing Alcohol Concerns Through Education, created
the program, which is designed to increase awareness of
responsible drinking.
“Every single quarter since we’ve implemented this program
we’ve seen an increase in reduction of alcohol-related
incidents,” Colonel Hoapili said.
The average age for alcohol-related offenders has risen from
19 in 2003 to 22 in 2004. Also, the average blood-alcohol
content has declined in each of the offenders, officials
said.
The program is based on science and physiology. The first
“0” stands for zero drinks for those younger than 21. The
second “0” stands for zero DUI offenses. The “1” stands for
one drink per hour to give the liver enough time to process
the alcohol. The “3” stands for a maximum of three drinks
per night to keep the body’s blood-alcohol content below
0.05 percent.
The purposes of the program are threefold, Colonel Hoapili
said. First, it reminds people that it is not prohibition.
Second, it keeps most people under the legal threshold of a
blood-alcohol content of 0.05 percent. Third, it allows
people to keep their behavior at a personally responsible
level.
To get the program’s message out to the troops, base
officials made more than 600 posters and distributed them
throughout the base’s 12,000-square-mile missile complex.
Four phases have debuted since the program’s inception.
Themes were “Bad Call,” “Beer Man,” “There’s More to Life”
and “It’s About Drinking Responsibly.”
The themes have taken different approaches to the program,
from showing the consequences of a DUI offense, to poking
fun at the common criticisms and misperceptions, to showing
more productive activities, officials said.
Those productive activities, officials said, provide Airmen
something of value in exchange for drinking, including late
night basketball, late night dances, late night pool parties
and a paint ball course.
Young Airmen run Dorm Escape in the First Term Airmen’s
Center. It is open five nights a week and provides video
games, movies on big screen televisions, pool, foosball and
other recreational activities.
Airmen here have embraced the program.
“(If you) stick to the rules, you will stay out of trouble,”
said Airman 1st Class Dwane Samuel, of the 90th Logistics
Readiness Squadron.
“People like to poke fun at the 0-0-1-3 program, but you
can’t go into a bar and not think about it,” said Airman 1st
Class Tessa Cubbon, of the 90th Space Wing. “Airmen are
changing the way they have fun.”
“It’s worthwhile because it takes care of our most precious
resource -- our people,” Colonel Hoapili said. “This program
keeps our people safe.”
by Airman 1st Class Lauren Sixbey
90th Space Wing Public Affairs
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