Safety net needs volunteers to hold it up

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lindsey Maurice
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Many people have experienced that night at the club or local bar where they've had too much to drink and their plan to get home safely fell through.

Luckily for Aviano men and women, there is a reliable backup plan on the weekends that will never fail them. It's called Airmen Against Drunk Driving.

Organized by a handful of Airmen and staffed by volunteers, the program offers members of the base community a safe ride home Fridays and Saturdays between midnight and 5 a.m.

"AADD is a valuable program to our base community," said Airman 1st Class Cedric Lanier, AADD president. "Not only does it ensure the safety of our Airmen by keeping them from driving drunk, but it ensures the safety of the surrounding communities."

Designed as a safety net for when someone's "get home safe" plan doesn't work out, AADD staffs at least five volunteers each night, including one person to answer the phone and two driver/wingmen teams that include both a male and female.

"The wingman aspect is important so that the drivers have a navigator to help them get from point A to point B," said Airman Lanier. "We also try and staff at least one male and female each night so that if it's a female caller for instance, she can be comfortable knowing there's another sober female in the vehicle."

Airman Lanier said that while the volunteer support the AADD program receives has always been positive, he would like to have more regular volunteers on staff, as they currently only have a handful.

"We only have about three regulars at this time, but I would love to have about 10," he said. "Some weekends we find ourselves scrambling to fill all the positions and it'd be nice to have a bigger pool of regulars to go to."

One of the program's regular volunteers, Lara Jean Kwarero, said she and her teenage daughter began helping out this past December when her husband deployed and have found it to be a very rewarding experience.

"As a retired police officer, dealing with DWIs (driving while intoxicated violations) is something I'm all too familiar with," she said. "I think AADD is a great program because it gives people the peace of mind to know that there is always a safe way to get home.

"I think sometimes people may not feel comfortable calling someone in their shop or chain of command for a ride home or they may not know anyone they can call at all and this gives them another option. It keeps Airmen from putting themselves, the community and their careers at risk."

According to Airman Lanier, the AADD program averages about 30-40 calls a month from Airmen throughout the surrounding communities.

"I find AADD personally gratifying," said Airman Lanier. "To know that we've kept that many Airmen from getting behind the wheel is a great feeling."

The AADD president reminds people that the program is designed as backup plan and shouldn't be used as a person's regular ride home from the club or bar every weekend.

"With a base community numbering in the thousands and only five volunteers on staff each night it would be impossible to pick up everyone on base," said Airman Lanier. "We just ask that people please have their own plan in place to get home safely before they go out and use AADD only as a last resort."

Those interested in volunteering for the program, should call Airman 1st Class Monica Johnson at 0434-30-7216 or Airman 1st Class Melissa Hill at 0434-30-5209. Volunteers use their own vehicles to pick up customers.

The number to the AADD dispatch desk is 0434-30-5938 or 0434-30-AADD (2233). The phone number is also located on every Airmen's "wingman card."