MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Moody Air Force Base hosted its first DUI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing course, July 16-July 18, 2019.
The three-day course is designed to provide participants from Moody and local law enforcement agencies with tools and information to investigate DUIs by discussing the frequency and risks associated with impaired drivers.
“This course is designed for peace officers responsible for enforcing DUI laws,” said Tech. Sgt. Glen Stitt, 23d Security Forces Squadron (SFS) NCO in charge of training. “It introduces the participants to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recommended standardized field sobriety testing process.”
The recognition-expert instructors taught students from 23d SFS, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Valdosta Police Department, Omega Police Departments, St. Mary’s Police Department and Tift County Sheriff’s Office.
“The connection we establish with local law enforcement agencies help build bilateral cooperation through the local, state and federal entities,” said Tech. Sgt. Emily Souza, 23d SFS flight sergeant. “This joint training builds the relationship between local and federal agencies to allow a symbiotic work environment.”
After teaching how to recognize impaired drivers and the effects of alcohol by showing statistics and studies describing the prevalence of DUI violations, the instructors provided opportunities to practice the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand examinations on alcohol-impaired members.
“Through regulations, we train our members to administer the Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand,” Stitt said. “The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus gives us the ability to build our case on an individual we suspect may be driving under the influence.”
By teaching the students how to properly detect and interpret clues observed during field tests in conformity with Security Forces Training Reference Guides and Air Force regulations, peace officers can appropriately assess the situation upon the completion of the course.
“The course includes sessions using subjects who have [consumed] alcohol to specific [blood alcohol concentration] levels,” said Brad Owens, Georgia Public Safety Training Center Standards of Field Sobriety coordinator. “The students administer the tests on the subjects and make arrest decisions based on the results.”
Owens added the goal is to provide the students with the necessary tools to enforce DUI laws, promote highway safety and save the lives of citizens.