Airmen Against Drunk Driving makes roads safer

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Ingersoll
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Since 1998 5,383 people have not driven home drunk because of the effort of a handful of people who care enough to pick them up.

They're called Airmen Against Drunk Driving.

The concept is rather simple. If you're out drinking and your plans for a safe ride home fell through, call a number and AADD will come and get you for free with no repercussions.

"AADD is for anyone who has an ID for the base," said 1st Lt. Sashonna Zacour, vice president of AADD. "We have a list of drivers who are on call for the weekend, and when you call we send someone out to get you and bring you home."

Airman having this option makes a huge impact in potential saved lives.

"The bottom line is that an effective AADD program is critical to the safety of the base populace," said Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Hickey, 100th Air Refueling Wing command chief. "We encourage all of our Airmen to have a good plan when they head out into the local community. The truth of the matter is though, that even the best laid plans fall apart at times and our Airmen find themselves in a position where they need a safe ride home. When that happens, it's extremely important for us to have an option available that does not cost our Airmen anything to use. If the end result is that we only save one life throughout the course of the year, the program is well worth the time and effort of all of our volunteers."

Drivers for the program volunteer for varied reason. Some are just looking to get bullet points, while for some their reasons are very personal.

Following the tragic death of her brother who was killed in a head on collision with a drunk driver in March 2008, an accident that also claimed the life of the drivers infant child, First Lieutenant Zacour got heavily involved with AADD as a way of preventing the same tragedy from befalling other families.

"It sounds rather corny but, taking care of each other is what families do," she said. "AADD is a way that we can take care of each other in our Air Force family."

With the service being offered every weekend of the year, having enough people is always a problem. AADD encourages units to sponsor a weekend once a year.
"If every unit took one weekend a year then we would never have a problem with volunteers again," Said First Lieutenant Zacour. "I try to remind people that their families are out on the road too and we all share the responsibility of trying to keep them safe."

With a lot of volunteers or a few AADD will continue to keep the roads safe for everyone including you.