Sober Ride changes to AADD

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sandra Marrero
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Sober Ride, a base organization aimed at preventing drunken driving among Team Moody members unveiled a new name along with changes to the program during a meeting here Feb. 11.

The program, now called Airmen Against Drunk Driving, was revamped by its council to gain prominence here, ensure consistent volunteer participation and save lives. 

"This brings the campaign to the forefront," said Master Sgt. Allan Hogan, former Sober Ride president. "We are going to tackle this [drunken driving] problem. We are going to keep Team Moody safe."

Base leadership specified the need to overhaul Sober Ride to its council last year. In response, Hogan's mentor first suggested a name change to give Airmen consistency from base to base.

"Other bases call the program Airmen Against Drunk Driving," said Master Sgt. Jeffery Cooke, AADD ways and means council member. "A lot of the individuals who came to the base weren't familiar with what Sober Ride was, so there was some disconnect between big Air Force and what we have here at Moody. We didn't want them to think we were anything different."

Furthermore, AADD plans to become more visible on base by reaching out to different organizations to recruit volunteers who will provide rides to Airmen if they are impaired.

"It's good to have the buy-in from those professional organizations," said Cooke. "We will be going to Airmen Committed to Excellence, the Moody 5/6 Club and the Air Force Sergeants Association to speak on behalf of AADD and recruiting folks to volunteer. That way we are forecasting out instead of emailing folks last-minute to get more volunteers."

In the past, if there were not enough volunteers, services were cancelled for that week. To prevent cancellations and encourage participation, AADD plans to reimburse gas money for everyone who provides transportation. Additionally, AADD is set to recognize volunteers at quarterly award ceremonies to show their appreciation.

Another change announced by Hogan is that volunteer weekends will be assigned to individual units. Each unit will have a point of contact who will help get volunteers and facilitate communication among volunteers.
Although AADD drivers should be readily available, it's not designed to be the first option for Team Moody, said Hogan.
"We've changed our hours of operation and we're hoping this ensures the people who are using the program have a plan. Our new hours of operation are from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. and before it was from 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m."

To further encourage alternatives to AADD, they will be distributing taxi vouchers at the north gate and Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency (PACE) cards for Airmen to plan ahead. They will fill the card with three plans to get

The bottom line with these modifications is to save lives here and in the Valdosta community.

"My biggest concern is that sometime between three and four years ago, we had three fatalities, said Hogan. "The survivor had to live with the loss of his fellow Airmen. I don't want to see any Airmen, family members or the community suffer."

To be successful in that goal, Cooke encourages Airmen to make use of the program when PACE plans fall through.

"As Airmen, it's our responsibility to take care of other Airmen," said Cooke. "We don't take names. It's completely confidential and we want it to stay that way so we can make sure we take care of our folks. If there's one person who feels that there is retribution for calling AADD, they may fail to call. If one person ends up getting a DUI or kills somebody, that's one person who never should've taken that risk."

To get in contact with AADD on weekends, call 229-25-SOBER (229-257-6231). To volunteer, get in contact your unit's POC.