Home > News > Article Display

AADD gears up for holiday season

By Airman 1st Class Marissa Tucker, 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs / Published November 19, 2009

PRINT | E-MAIL
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- With the most festive holidays of the year around the corner, the urge to over-indulge in good food and spirits can outshine one's thoughts of a safe drive home. One too many cups of spiked egg nog can be fatal in more ways than one.

Every year around the holidays, the reality is many wing commanders do not wonder if there will be an alcohol-related incident or accident involving their Airmen during the holiday season - but when they will receive a call about one and how bad it will be.

The 4th Fighter Wing implemented the Airmen Against Drunk Driving program to ensure Team Seymour members have a safe passage home when their plans fall through.

Since March, the program has potentially saved 168 Airmen's lives, families and careers, said Master Sgt. Misty Plott, 4th Logistic Readiness Squadron's non-commissioned officer in charge of compliance.

"We can never exactly be sure on the number of saves because it is impossible knowing how many people one drunken person could have harmed by driving," she said. "Maybe one, maybe 10; even if you just save one person, isn't it worth a few hours of time?"

Chief Master Sgt. Fred Heim, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron superintendent, re-established the program with the help of many volunteers including Sergeant Plott and Staff Sgt. Allison Edmonds, 4th LRS compliance and AADD president.

"(I volunteer because) we save lives and protect the community," Sergeant Edmonds said. "Every ride we give is one less person who is going to get arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or endangering themselves or someone else while driving drunk."

Both Sergeant Plott and Sergeant Edmonds agree they expect the number of rides to rise in the next couple of months with the holiday spirit already beginning to spread. Recently, they received a record-setting number of calls, 19, in one night.

During Thanksgiving weekend, AADD will operate from Wednesday through Saturday from 11 p.m to 3 a.m. AADD services are not possible without volunteers to help ensure members of Team Seymour return safely from the extended weekend.

"For volunteers, it's a chance to do something incredibly positive while having a good time," Sergeant Edmonds said. "For the people who call, it's a free, anonymous and safe ride home with no repercussions."

The call center operates out of the Airmen's Center next to the Southern Eagle Dining Facility here, where volunteers can play games, watch television and socialize with others from across the base they may not have met otherwise, Sergeant Plott said. Squadrons or groups are welcome to volunteer together.

The services of AADD are available to any active duty or reserve members, dependents, DoD civilians and retirees. The dispatch number is (919) 722- 5633. Calls are completely anonymous and contrary to popular belief, people who use the service do not have to volunteer the following week, Sergeant Edmonds said.

"The rides these individuals receive are free and confidential," Sergeant Plott said. "It cannot get any easier than that. Pushing seven digits on the phone to call AADD can save lives, money and lots of heartache, not to mention a career."
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.