Photo By Sgt. Paul Peterson | That Guy recently visited Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune to raise awareness about alcohol...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - He’s hardly the life of the party, but he probably doesn’t realize it. With a few too many drinks, lowered inhibitions and some unfortunate encouragement, That Guy can dig a hole of shame he doesn’t even remember stumbling into. Lately, he’s making appearances around the medical facilities aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to remind everyone not to be like him.
That Guy is a multimedia campaign funded by the Department of Defense to reduce excessive drinking among service members. The campaign has a youthful edge utilizing television and radio spots, promotional items and thatguy.com to capitalize on the libation induced antics of That Guy and That Girl.
“It’s very interactive and has a lot of good information from a fun perspective,” said John Swett, a health educator at Health Promotion and Wellness, Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune. “They’re all awareness type materials but it’s very interactive. You can play the games and get involved. You can actually see skits of That Guy or That Girl and get a feel for the fact that you don’t want to be [them]. You don’t want to be the person who discovers your buddies posted you on Facebook or YouTube wrapped around a commode.”
For all the fun the campaign brings to the table, the final goal is a serious one for service members whose careers can hang in the balance. The program is designed to attack alcohol abuse from the front end, before any tabs have been opened or drinks have been poured.
The focus of the program is prevention, said Glenda Aultowski, a community health nurse for Health Promotion and Wellness, NHCL. Many programs deal with alcohol abuse, addiction and treatment, but That Guy is about getting people to think about what their behavior can lead to and how it can look to other people.
“It’s not just about the danger of alcohol but about what it does to your military career,” said Aultowski. “Sometimes when you drink it’s easy to forget that what you will be facing tomorrow as a consequence of your behavior the night before.”
That is why the campaign has examples of That Guy and That Girl placing themselves in ridiculously compromising situations, said Aultowski. The playing cards, ringtones, videos and other free media attached to the campaign are designed to remind service members to take a proactive approach to the protection of their reputations, careers and overall health.
The naval hospital received a firsthand glance of this behavior when two service members took on the roles of That Guy and That Girl and paid the hospital a visit in April. The duo will continue to make the rounds to the base’s branch clinics in the weeks to come.
The actors illustrate the inappropriate behaviors associated with excessive drinking, especially for military personnel. Their performance is also a striking reminder that there is a damaging, public side to abusing alcohol, said Aultowski.
There is a host of Internet sites tracking people’s missteps on the long road home from the bar and alcohol that remains readily available to members of the military. However, MCB Camp Lejeune has its own line of defense to help service members deal with alcohol related issues.
Marine Corps Community Services offers regular resilience education classes to all authorized identification cardholders. Their Prime for Life class targets alcohol abuse prevention. In addition, Health Promotion and Wellness will set their sights on substance and alcohol abuse as their monthly theme in June, said Aultowski.
The focus of the That Guy campaign and the various other endeavors to curb alcohol related issues is to bring the risks of alcohol and outlets for treatment into focus, said Aultowski. The less you see That Guy in real life, the more the campaign’s goals are being met.
For more information on the affects of alcohol and addition prevention, visit thatguy.com or rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov or call 451-2865 for more information on MCCS’ resilience education programs.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2012 10:19 |
| Story ID: | 87600 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 242 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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