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Air Force abuzz over moderation
By Patrick O'Driscoll, USA TODAY
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A nuclear missile base here is using unorthodox tactics to combat an old problem in the military ranks: drinking to excess.
No one at F.E. Warren Air Force Base has been ordered not to drink alcohol. But the base commander, alarmed by the number of booze-related crimes among his troops, has ordered a marketing and education campaign to spread a sobering message: Irresponsible drinking threatens the base's preparedness and will jeopardize careers.
The campaign, which includes alcohol-free activities for underage personnel and other measures, began last spring. It has quickly become so effective that Pentagon brass are taking note. Other Air Force bases might follow Warren's lead.
"It's creating some buzz," says Col. Evan Hoapili, commander of Warren's 90th Space Wing, who set up the program. Alcohol abuse, he says, is "a health crisis. And in the military, it is a readiness issue."
By any measure, Hoapili's campaign is working. In the final three months of 2004, incidents involving alcohol at Warren declined 74% from the start of the year. That includes driving violations, public drunkenness, domestic violence, sexual assault, thefts and other infractions. The base also reported 81% fewer cases of underage drinking and 45% fewer drunken-driving arrests...
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The entire Infantry Battalion that I serve with needs this. They be a bunch of drunk, womanizing and wife/girl friend beating bastards