Re-designed AADD program at Joint Base Lewis-McChord continues to keep Airmen safe

Published Sept. 14, 2011
By Airman 1st Class Leah Young
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- A McChord Field program aimed at saving lives was recently revamped in an effort to better serve Airmen.

The Airmen Against Drunk Driving program has gone through several changes in the past year, including the addition of a van and a whole new operating procedure to ensure the safety of Airmen. The program provides McChord Field personnel free, safe and confidential rides home within a 30-mile radius of McChord Field.

According to Master Sgt. Phillip Ryan, former AADD president at McChord Field, the first change the council made when he took over were the hours of operation.

"AADD used to be 24-hour operations, but they weren't getting phone calls," he said. "We moved to a weekend schedule almost immediately with Friday and Saturday nights as the peak times. The 24-hour operation was unnecessary and unsustainable, so put our resources where they're needed."

After the hours of operation adjustment, the next goal was to establish a quicker response time.

"Before, volunteers used pay-as-you-go phones to answer the calls from home," said Ryan. "This delayed response time because some houses have terrible reception so there were a lot of dropped and missed calls. When our council took over, we saw the need to sequester a group of people when they're volunteering for AADD rather than have them scattered throughout the county."

AADD attained a room for volunteers to gather and answer calls during their shift. The room, located next to the newly remodeled Airmen Community Center in building 572, contains a reliable phone to ensure no calls are missed.

"We found this to be the most effective way because when people call, we have an immediate response," he said. "We don't have to worry about obstacles getting in the way of people answering any calls."

After scheduling changes were implemented, the largest improvement, according to Ryan, arose. Adorned with the AADD logo and phone number, the program began using a donated van to transport customers from the location of the call to their homes.

"We started using the van, which was incredible, because volunteers were using their personal vehicles," he said. "That's when the program got a lot of notoriety. I started parking the van in places where people would notice it and many began talking about it."

The improvements didn't stop there. Beginning the July 4 holiday weekend, volunteers began driving customers' vehicles home.

"People avoided calling because they didn't know how they'd get their vehicles home," said Ryan. "It was important for us to cater the program to the needs of the customer. That's when we made the decision to have volunteers start driving back vehicles to homes."

After the customer signs an insurance waiver, their vehicle is successfully transported to their residence by an AADD volunteer. Due to the customer vehicle transportation addition, each AADD shift now requires four volunteers: dispatcher, AADD van driver, customer vehicle driver and helper.

"This became the most effective way to do things," said Ryan. "Safety is our highest priority."

Currently, 14 groups are in a constant AADD rotation. These groups vary from combined squadrons to professional organizations. This constant rotation has improved driving under the influence numbers across the board.

As word of AADD spread, DUI numbers decreased. In 2010, AADD received five documented calls and McChord Field Airmen had a total of 24 DUIs. In 2011, so far, 12 McChord Field Airmen DUIs have been reported, and AADD has received 160 calls.

"We know it's working," said Ryan. "This program is necessary because it's Airmen taking care of Airmen. It's as simple as that. However, I want to emphasize that AADD should be considered a back-up plan."

Air Mobility Command has lost one Airman in each of the past two years, both in private motor vehicle mishaps involving excessive speed and alcohol. Organizations like AADD are geared toward preventing these mishaps.