AADD offers 24/7 support phoneline, reformed system Published July 15, 2015 By Spangdahlem Airmen Against Drunk Driving 2014-2015 AADD Council SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Greetings from Spangdahlem's Airmen Against Drunk Driving! We're excited to elaborate on our recent reforms to our program which began April 30, 2015. We'll also talk about our principles for each reform, how they affect you, our base and our community, and what we all can do to change the culture. First principle: "If people are in need of help, we should help and not enable them." The first reform is that AADD will no longer return callers' cars. All DoD-ID cardholders--even without cars--will be eligible for AADD services. We did this because of our first principle of reform: "If people are in need of help, we should help and not enable them." Under the old system, we would return you and your car home for free, in essence enabling callers to not have a plan or use a designated driver. Under the new system, your car is your responsibility. Plan accordingly before you go out. Under the old system, callers without cars were told to call or pay someone else. The Airman's Creed says "I will never leave an Airman behind," but that's exactly what we were doing. Under the new system, all DoD-ID cardholders will not be turned away, which is why our first principle states "If people are in need of help, we should help and not enable them." Second principle: "If people want to help others, we should let them." The second reform is that AADD volunteers will operate from their homes and use their privately-owned vehicless to pickup/return callers. Volunteers without cars may dispatch from their homes. This will be so because of our second principle: "If people want to help others, we should let them." Under the old system, we used a single dealership-provided vehicle which required only two drivers. As a result, we had extra drivers remain idle while waiting for that car to return and turned away more volunteers than we could accept due to the cap. Also, operating from on-base produced wasted man hours and fuel as drivers would wait for people to call them from off-base, even in places close to where those volunteers lived. Under the new system, volunteers may use their own POVs and work from home. This increases fuel efficiency as they live closer to where people need to be picked up or returned and better utilizes man hours as they will only be called as needed as opposed to waiting on base. Also, there are no limits to how many people can volunteer at the same time. Under the old system, dispatchers had to operate from base instead of their homes, despite the fact that they wouldn't be driving at all! Under the new system, they can dispatch from home, also reducing their fuel usage. Finally, this is an important distinction: Airmen without cars are still able to volunteer for AADD as dispatchers -- and, remember, under the old program, they weren't even able to use the program at all. This last reform affirms our second principle "If people want to help others, we should let them." Third principle: "If no one can help those in need, we should empower those in need to help themselves." Finally, we've expanded our phone number for 24/7 availability of AADD and community support functions as a safety net. This is in line with our third principle "If no one can help those in need, we should empower those in need to help themselves." Please understand what we are saying: so long as volunteers want to help those in need, you will get a ride home. However, if there are no volunteers willing to help, we want to empower you to help yourself. Under the old system, our phone number was attended just 12 hours a week. Under the new system, our phone number - 06565-61-AADD (2233) - will now be accessible 24/7. During AADD hours of operation - Saturdays and Sundays from 12 am to 6 am - you have an option to be connected to a dispatcher and request a driver. When we're not in service or unavailable to help you, you have options for local cab services, Ride-for-Life and other agencies. More importantly, you can press 0 for the command post and be connected with your recall roster or first sergeant. 06565-61-AADD (2233) Option 1: AADD [Saturdays/Sundays between 12-6am] Option 2: Medical emergencies Option 3: Local cab agencies Option 4: Ride-for-Life Option 5: Security Forces Option 6: Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Option 7: Chapel Option 8: National Suicide Prevention Hotline Option 9: Airman & Family Readiness Center Option 0: Command Post (Can connect to you unit's first sergeant or recall roster) We don't know about you, but we couldn't remember the phone numbers for all of these agencies unless we wrote them down at some point. In the past, we used to fit all of these on a business card. Now, our easy-to-remember phone number can give you all of these and serve as a paperless wingman card. This last reform affirms our principle that "If no one can help those in need, we should empower those in need to help themselves." Change the Culture In conclusion, we put forward these reforms not only to increase program efficiency but to change the culture: we're working to enhance a culture that demands accountability among our own people, empowers (not enables) them to do the right thing, makes better sense for our money and resources and puts AADD 100 percent back in the hands of the Airmen of Saber Nation. At AADD, we firmly believe the only cause behind a DUI is that an individual chose to drink and drive. We also believe the only way to combat DUIs is to empower individuals with the right options before they head out to drink and hold them accountable when they choose to commit a crime like a DUI. Making a plan is a choice -- just like a DUI is a choice, too. We want all of Saber Nation to choose wisely. Finally, we, as AADD alone, cannot change the culture: it will take everyone in our community to do that. We believe that's a future worth fighting for, and we respectfully ask you to join us. Thank you very much for your time, and have a wonderful Air Force Day! For more information or to volunteer, email us at 52fw.aadd@us.af.mil.