Army program focuses on anti-drug education, prevention

Photo By Dustin Gautney | Soldiers from both the Army Reserve and active duty Army practice the proper procedures for administrating drug testing as part of the Army Substance Abuse Program training held at the 87th Army Reserve Support Command – East in Birmingham, Ala. on Oct. 20 – 24.  

BIRMINGHAM, AL, UNITED STATES

10.24.2014

Story by Sgt. Dustin Gautney 

87th Training Division

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Thirteen Soldiers from both the Army Reserve and active duty Army became the service’s newest Unit Prevention Leaders after graduating from a five-day Substance Abuse Program held at the 87th Army Reserve Support Command – East headquarters in Birmingham, Ala. Oct. 20 – 24.

The Army Substance Abuse Program is an anti-substance abuse initiative dedicated to developing education and monitoring of substance abuse throughout the U.S. Army. The program centers on alcohol and drug reduction and prevention to promote overall Soldier fitness and unit readiness.

“The goal of the program is to certify personnel within a unit as subject matter experts in substance abuse,” said Sgt. 1st Class Nadiva Johnson, 87th ARSC-E Alcohol and Drug Abuse officer. “The individuals that graduate the course will be the primary point of contact for continual education and substance abuse monitoring for their military unit."

Newly graduated Soldiers will become Unit Prevention Leaders for their commands. Each Individual will be responsible for administrating and overseeing drug screening within the unit.
“One of the primary roles of the UPL is to have oversight on mandatory drug screening with in the units,” said Johnson. “The screening is one of the key initiatives to deter Soldiers from abusing drugs. However, because of the implications and impact of drug screenings on a Soldiers career, it is imperative that the UPL’s have the education to properly administrator the screenings.”

Another role of the UPL is to continually educate Soldiers of the ever changing landscape of illegal drugs. Through multiple blocks of annual training, UPL’s inform their Soldiers and commanders of growing trends in new illegal or potentially dangerous drug abuses. The continual training throughout the year gives Soldiers and leaders the skills to prevent potential drug trends within the community.

“A large portion of the UPL’s duties is to create their own educational programs on drug abuses,” said Johnson. “Because of this we had each Soldier that graduates the course present their own educational block on a chosen abused drug. Ultimately they will be able to take that experience and apply it to further drug abuse education for their units.”

• Date Taken: 10.24.2014
• Date Posted: 10.30.2014 11:19
• Story ID: 146558
• Location: BIRMINGHAM, AL, US