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The Marine Corps’ relationship with alcohol dates all the way back to its birth in Tun Tavern, November 10, 1775. Although the Corps began in a bar, Gen. Robert Neller, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, quoted “You don’t have to die in one.”
“The Substance Abuse Counseling Center is the Marine Corps’ answer to alcohol and drug abuse for both active duty and family members,” said Matthew Leibfreid, the clinical supervisor at SACC. “We provide everything from early intervention and assessment to referral of higher levels of treatment and after care.”
Leibfreid said one of the main focuses of the center is to maintain readiness for base personnel.
“Our job is to provide a battle ready Marine to send back to their command,” Leibfreid said. “From a more personal side, we want to take a person who’s struggling and having problems, especially with substance use, and give them tools to better manage and live a happier more productive life.”
Quentin Redmon, the Drug Demand Reduction Coordinator at SACC, said the center is open to anyone who wants help or information about drugs and alcohol.
“Individuals can come to us on a sub-referral basis if they think ‘Maybe I’m curious about where I’m at right now with my use of alcohol’,” Redmon said. “We provide educational services, ‘Prime for Life’ being one of the primary courses that we use for alcohol.”
Redmon said there are two versions of Prime for Life for personnel to attend.
“We have one version which lasts half a day where an individual can come on a volunteer basis and we provide an in depth education about the harmful effects in the use of alcohol,” Redmon said. “If you were to get a DUI or had an alcohol related incident, your command would refer you to us where you’ll be given an assessment by one of our counselors. If you’re risk isn’t that high then we‘ll send you the 16.0 version of Prime for Life which is a two day course.”
Cristina Howe, the Alcohol Prevention Specialist at SACC, said in response to the “Not 1 Drop” campaign passed from Marine Corps Installations Pacific, the center has been promoting the prevention of drunk driving.
“The ‘Not 1 Drop’ is if you’re going to drink just don’t drive at all instead of trying to figure out whether or not it’s safe to drive to begin with,” Howe said. “We’ve been promoting the options of using Uber and Lyft since the base finally opened up for them to do pick up and drop offs. There’s also the Drunk Driving Prevention Program where volunteers can provide rides for Service members to return safely to base.”
Howe said alcohol isn’t the only substance SACC has to deal with, and the personnel working here are ready to provide services to base personnel whenever they’re needed.
“We have a lot of command referrals that come in, but we also have a lot of self-referrals and people that want to learn how to be healthier decisions and low risk choices,” Howe said. “If at any point someone’s in need of information, support for themselves or anyone they know, that’s what we’re here for.”
For more information contact (808) 257-3900 or visit the Substance Abuse Counseling Center at BLDG 279.
| Date Taken: | 01.19.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2018 21:05 |
| Story ID: | 262981 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SACC promotes healthier lifestyle for base personnel, by LCpl Isabelo Tabanguil, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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