The military installations
honored for their anti-drug program successes represent excellence, Dr.
Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said at
the Defense Department’s 25th annual Community Drug Awareness Awards ceremony
in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes today.
Woodson and Daniel P. Feehan, principal deputy
assistant secretary of defense for readiness, honored an installation from each
service and a military-affiliated
youth organization
for the best drug awareness and
outreach programs in the past year in advance of the 25th annual DoD Red Ribbon Week, observed
Oct.
23 to 31 this year.
Woodson said the
DoD recognition honors the programs that set themselves apart in an environment
where substance abuse affects national security and readiness.
“You
understand that readiness is more than a concept,” he told awardees. “Readiness
is about our preparedness for life, [and] the readiness to assist others.”
Woodson also
noted that drug-positive rates in the services have averaged 0.9 percent in the
past several years, which he said is well below DoD’s goal of 2 percent.
The military
needs service members to perform at their optimum mental and physical capabilities,
he said. “We need them to be healthy. We need people who are resilient when
facing adversities and … [when] operating in foreign environments.”
Family
members, both adults and children, also must be strong, he noted.
Leadership is Key
“Leadership
means doing the right thing, even if you are in the minority, and as the department
recognizes you today, you should bask in this recognition and know that your
individual and organizational commitments have made a difference,” Woodson said.
“It’s a
complicated world out there, and there are a number of things our service
members have to be ready for,” Feehan said, noting that some young troops are “impressionable
and high-risk individuals.”
Drawing on
this year’s Red Ribbon Week theme -- “Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free” -- Feehan
said there is a “clear commonality with the idea that if you have a drug-free
life while in uniform, you are set up for a successful life thereafter.”
2015 Awards
This year’s
DoD Community Drug Awareness Awards were presented to:
-- Army
Substance Abuse Program, Army Garrison Stuttgart, Germany;
-- Drug Demand
Reduction Program, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California;
-- Drug
Education for Youth, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station
Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia;
-- Demand
Reduction Program, 319th Air Base Wing, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North
Dakota; and
-- Substance
Abuse Program, 5th Regiment Army, Maryland Army National Guard, Baltimore.
The 2015
Fulcrum Shield Award, which recognizes independent military-affiliated youth
organization for its top anti-drug work in the community, was presented to the
Drug Demand Reduction Program, Young Marines of the Marine Corps League.
“Today isn’t a
declaration of victory; but a reminder that you are doing the right things,”
Woodson told the awardees. He also praised them for encouraging service members
and families to renew their pledges to remain drug-free. “They need people like
you to stress this positive message,” he added. “They are listening, … and you
are succeeding.”
(Follow Terri
Moon Cronk on Twitter: @MoonCronkDoD)