Photo By Sgt. Keenan Zelazoski | Camp Pendleton hosted an alcohol and drug abuse prevention program for service members...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Camp Pendleton hosted an alcohol and drug abuse prevention program for service members at the Substance Abuse Counseling Center here on April 29 to highlight the importance of preventing alcoholism and drug abuse.
This program helps service members come up with ideas to give back to the military to prevent alcohol and drug related incidents amongst the ranks.
The content in the course is based on data collected through various studies conducted by the Prevention Research Institute in Oakland, Calif.
The course targets service members that are 17-25 years old, and applies selective prevention and intervention strategies to avert alcohol-related incidents.
“I served more than 20 years in the military, and one thing I noticed in all the safety briefs, is that responsible drinking is never defined,” said Nancy Shell, the prevention specialist with the Substance Abuse Counseling Center here. “This course uses the evidence from studies and an interactive take on teaching to personalize the material.”
According to Shell, the course is intended to be personalized training that enables Marines to visualize the effects of alcohol through unique learning activities.
In one activity, instructors simulated some traumatic events that could occur while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and the students were instructed to select the 10 things they value most in life.
Then a hypothetical natural disaster is introduced to the exercise and the students are told to remove three things from their lists.
This process is repeated twice, leaving them with the one thing they value most on the list. The most common valuable left on almost every list was family.
The instructors took a moment to explain that the things they lose in a crisis would not be their decision to make, and that alcohol and drug related incidents can lead to the loss of the one thing they cherish most.
“It is really shocking to have this material personalized like this,” said Lance Cpl. Edhino Galvan, a supply specialist with Headquarters and Support Battalion. “It really put the reality and nature of alcohol and drug consumption into a new perspective for me. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t realize exactly how it works.”
Additionally, the class addressed how alcohol can have varied effects based on the size, weight, and even gender of the user.
“No one ever mentions the difference between men and women consuming alcohol, but it’s important to shed light on the matter,” said Shell. “Females lack some of the enzymes that break down the alcohol, and this causes women to take significantly longer to process the alcohol.”
This means it may take a person longer than the prescribed standard eight hours to metabolize all of the alcohol in their system.
“Popping on one of the random breathalyzers would be a devastating, career ending experience,” said Galvan. “To think that it could happen to us, and we would never have seen it coming because we follow the eight hour guideline is scary. Knowledge is power and I wish every Marine could have this training. It just might save someone.”
To learn more and to schedule this training, have your unit commander or First Sergeant contact the local prevention specialist at the Substance Abuse Counseling Center at 760-725-9878.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2015 16:38 |
| Story ID: | 167848 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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