Red Ribbon Week is an annual event held in late October to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse. It originated in remembrance of a DEA agent murdered by a drug cartel. The 2011 theme is "It's Up To Me To Be Drug Free". Events for children include poster contests and pledge activities, while adults are encouraged to safely dispose of unused medications. The week concludes with a prescription drug take-back event to prevent pollution and misuse. The goal is to educate about the destructive effects of drug abuse and promote healthy choices.

1. Red Ribbon Week
October 24—29. 2011
It is approaching the end of October and it is time for Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is a annual event that
started out as a remembrance of a DEA who was brutally murdered by a drug cartel in Mexico in 1985. The nature of
his murder so shocked those who knew DEA special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena that they began wearing a red
ribbon once a year to remind people of the tragic cost of drug abuse. The message spread and in 1988 the National
Family Partnership took the Red Ribbon Week campaign nationwide. The focus of the campaign is to educate indi-
viduals, families, and communities of the destructive effects of drug abuse and to examine our own lives and note
those positive results from not using drugs.
The 2011 Red Ribbon Week theme is, "IT'S UP TO ME TO BE DRUG FREE".
For the children JBER schools and youth centers, in coordination with the
Army Substance Abuse Program Prevention Coordinator, Ken Thompson
384-1411, and Drug Demand Reduction Program Manager, Ken White 552-
2542, are participating in a verity of activities such as poster contests, Red
Ribbon contracts between parents and children, jump rope contests, the an-
nual red Ribbon walk along with other activities.
For the adults and family members there is a “Lock Your Meds” campaign
sponsored by the National Family Partnership on 27 Oct 2011. The target audience for this campaign is 20-80 year
old adults, with the primary focus of keeping over the counter drugs and prescription drugs out of the hand of drug
abusers.
Also for adults The Red Ribbon week campaign will close with the DEA sponsored, prescription drug take back pro-
gram on 29 October at 10 AM until 2 PM. The local pick-up points on JBER will be conducted by the JBER ASAP and
673rd Pharmacy at the JBER BX and Commissary entrances. Old and no longer used medications are highly encour-
aged be turned in. We will not be accepting
inhalers, liquids, or illicit drugs.
This is a great opportunity to empty out that
medicine cabinet of old medications without
polluting our landfills or poisoning our water
supply by dumping them down the toilet.
1000 until 1400 at the entrances to the JBER Commissary & the BX/PX
Information compiled by George Mongar,
JBER Employee Assistance Program Coordinator
384-0863

2. Protecting what we love
Everyone has things in their lives that we love. For some it’s our family, friends, or pet. For
others it’s an activity such as fishing, skiing, sports team, or hanging out with our friends. No
matter who we are, there are things we love and want to protect.
Now imagine that those things that you love are removed from your life and you can never
get them back. Most of us would say that that “I would never knowingly endanger those things I
love.” We may believe that and feel to the core of our being that it’s true. The reality is that
many of us place the things we love in jeopardy by drinking and driving.
How can we protect those things we love and still drink? The answer is knowledge, the use
of knowledge to protect not only those things we love, but ourselves, our money and our
freedom. According to www.drinkinganddriving.org there are three basic concepts everyone
should know before drinking and driving:
Knowing the Truth
Knowing yourself
Thinking about the 3 F’s (Family, Friends and Future)
Knowing the Truth - Before anything else, you must understand and accept certain truths. There
are three we focus on - the Primary Truth, the Financial Truth, and the Logical Truth.
Starting with what should be the simplest truth, we address what we call, the
Primary Truth. Consider the Law to be your Primary Truth. The law is extremely clear
no matter where you live. Blow a .08 BAC, you’re going to jail. Refuse to blow, you're
going to jail. In some places, penalties are harsher than others. But one thing is
consistent across the nation. Drunk driving is against the law everywhere. Most of us
go out of our way not to break laws. Sometimes laws are broken and nobody knows.
Most people who get arrested for driving drunk have driven drunk before and gotten
away with it. But when you drive drunk, it is obvious and dangerous to others.
And speaking of the law, if you are under 21 we have a special message for you. No matter
where you drive in the country, drunk driving penalties for you are harsher than they are for the
rest of us! Forget all about .08! For you, there is a nationwide Zero Tolerance law.
Next, we turn our attention to the Financial Truth. Consider the consequences of a
DUI arrest compared to the costs of ANY available alternative. Did you know you could
take a limo and drink champagne all the way to the fanciest hotel in town, stagger into
the best suite and still not spend as much as you would for a DUI? The Financial Truth
of DUI is that you had better have between $7,000 and $40,000 set aside if you intend
to ignore every other lesson presented here.
The cost of a DUI varies based on how high your fine is, how much your lawyer
costs, and how much your insurance is raised. There are many other fees which are

3. easier to pin down. All in all, a first time average DUI in Alaska is estimated to be
$22,470. That's an expensive night out!
Know Yourself - We've all known people who we think do crazy things that we wouldn't
do. It might be that neighborhood skateboarder who always tries to do outrageous
tricks, or the businessman who stops at the bar every night on his way home.
These are both risky things to do! Either one of these guys can lower their risk by
simply making some smart choices. They need to think about the risk they are taking
and do what they know is right.
The savvy skateboarder wears a helmet and pads, and he plans his tricks. The
savvy businessman stops at the liquor store instead of the bar and drinks at home. If
neither of them openly think about their risks and make the right decisions, they will
both keep taking the same risks until something bad happens.
The point is, if you are likely to take risks, you have to admit it to yourself. You have
to think about the risks you take and you have to think about minimizing those risks.
When you drink, you know that is risky to drive. You need to minimize that risk and
look for alternatives. Every time you do it and get away with it, you make it worse,
because you know what will eventually happen. You know that you will either get
busted, or cause an accident.
Some of us never risk it. We know better. People like us need to think about the
people around us and make sure they never take risks like drinking and driving.
Remember, if they don't see the risk in their own behavior, they'll continue to take the
same risks over and over again. We can point it out to them, let them know we don't
want them to do it, and to the best of our abilities, make sure they don't.
There is one other important point we wish to drive home. Understand that when
you drink, your own opinion of your condition does not count. Just accept that no
matter how you feel, if you've been drinking, you don't want to drive.
Know yourself. Look for alternatives. Eliminate risks.
3 F’s Family Friends and Future - The quality of a 'typical' American life is frequently
measured by one's Family, Friends, and Future. The 3 Fs are intertwined in many
ways. One can compensate for another. One can severely hamper another. The point
is, we need to *think* about our own, personal 3 Fs.
Our actions have a large impact on our 3 Fs. When we do something in our life that
is good, we see the positive reaction from our Family and Friends, and we see benefits
to our Future.
When we make bad decisions, the opposite occurs. Our Family and Friends treat us
differently. Maybe it's just bad jokes, or a genuine mistrust. Combine this with any
financial or legal consequences of our bad decisions, and we've impacted our Future.
After taking a few steps up the ladder of life, we've taken a step back.
Protect what you love, don’t drink and drive>