Moody Airmen form DUI task force

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicholas Benroth
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  It only takes one bad decision to alter your Air Force career -- whether it be having a drink at a friend's house before driving or taking a sip of alcohol before you're 21.

While these are just two situations that can affect military members, the 723rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Mood Air Force Base, Ga. has recognized that even one of these is too many and is taking action to stop it through a program called, "Airmen helping Airmen."

"This summer we had a couple of alcohol-related incidents happen within our squadron," said Lt. Col. John Frazier, 723rd AMXS commander. "I understand these problems happen, but I wanted to come up with our own way to stop this."

This initiative led Colonel Frazier to hold a commander's call for squadron members. At the meeting he spoke to Airmen and officers alike about what was happening and then presented them with a challenge -- come up with a program to help curb this problem.

That led to the formation of a committee called the "DUI joint task force."

"The committee consists of Airmen, officers and noncommissioned officers to ensure the widest outreach possible," Colonel Frazier said. "It's exactly what I wanted to see because they help keep everyone active in figuring out programs needed to curb these problems and how to implement them."

One of the main programs developed by the committee was "Airmen helping Airmen." This program consists of a card that was developed by the Airmen to help one another out.

"The program was created to set up a buddy system for the Airmen to call on each other for help," said Master Sgt. Glenn McClelland, 723rd AMXS command staff NCO in charge. "The program is great because it was put together by the Airmen; they came up with the idea and decided what to name it."

Each name on the card is one of their fellow wingmen who has volunteered to help with this program.

"We had more than 60 Airmen throughout the squadron volunteer to be on this card in order to help out their fellow wingmen," Sergeant McClelland said. "In the end, we only used approximately 20, but it was great seeing the camaraderie between them."

"A supervisor is always there for you, whether it's to give you a ride or just to talk," the sergeant said. "The Airmen know this but thought it would be more comfortable if they had the choice between the sober ride program, their supervisor or their fellow Airmen."

The "Airmen helping Airmen" program is one of many that the 723rd AMXS is working on to help better their squadron for not only Moody, but for the Air Force.