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NEWS | July 21, 2006

AADD: Saving lives in Savannah

By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher 1st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Members of Detachment 71 may be far from home, but not far from help. 

The Det. 71 Airmen Against Drunk Driving program has been saving lives since the first week on the ground. 

“We established an AADD the first week here,” said Master Sgt. Kevin Coker, Det. 71 first sergeant. “So far, there have been 85 saves.” 

Staff Sgt. Ryan Lucas, 71st Aircraft Maintenance Unit, recently took the helm of the Det. 71 AADD program, just in time for the July 4 weekend. 

“We took on eight volunteers,” he said. “Normally, you only have to find four.” 

Part of Sergeant Lucas’ job is finding volunteers whose work schedule will allow them to work the program. He said it’s not as hard as he thought it would be. 

“People around here have been pretty good about stepping up for AADD,” he said. “We are TDY (temporary duty assignment), so already, we don’t have the number of personnel to get the volunteers from we would have back home.” 

One of those volunteers is Staff Sgt. Giovomya Brown, 71st AMU. She said the challenge to the program is scheduling. 

“Our schedule is real funny,” she said. “Sometimes, we can do it, and sometimes we can’t.” 

The detachment has set aside two rental vans for the program. Normally, all rental vehicles must be returned for the weekend, but the detachment made an exception to help AADD. 

Sergeant Lucas said the program was important, especially while TDY. 

“People have a tendency to go out and have a good time on TDY,” he said. “It requires a lot more responsibility. People who might not be used to having a plan suddenly find out they need one.” 

For Sergeant Brown, Det. 71’s AADD program was nothing new. 

“I used to do it as an Airman,” she said. “In the 71st, I didn’t really have the time because of my work schedule.” 

For AADD’s leader, however, it’s a new experience. Det. 71’s program is his first experience with AADD. He said once his TDY is over, he might hook up with AADD back at Langley. 

“I want to see how it rolls at Langley,” he said, “and how it’s run.”