Help available to break free from alcohol abuse Published April 21, 2011 By Chris McCann JBER Public Affairs JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- What would you do with twenty-two thousand dollars? Buy a new car? Take a three-week cruise? Invest for your future or your child's college? How about spending it on attorneys, court fines, insurance, and an ignition interlock device for your car? No? The average first offense of driving under the influence can set you back $22,000 according to the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles. Compare $2 per mile for a cab or giving a buddy 10 bucks to drive you home. Even the chagrin of calling a first-line supervisor and explaining that you need a ride pales in comparison. Drinking is a part of life for many people, and alcohol use isn't necessarily a bad thing. The important part is to remember to drink responsibly, said Tech. Sgt. Lona Conrad, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Air Force Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. "If people would just drink responsibly, it would make my job easier," she said. ADAPT parallels the Army Substance Abuse Program. On JBER, Army personnel are seen at Building 658. The Army population includes active-duty Soldiers, retirees, Department of the Army civilians and family members 18 and older. All other JBER personnel - Air Force, Marines, other retirees, and so on - are seen by ADAPT at the JBER hospital. When a person isn't drinking responsibly, there are two courses of action. A person who feels they have a problem with alcohol can seek treatment on the installation, and there are no repercussions, Conrad said, as long as the person completes the treatment program and doesn't incur legal problems. If there's an issue - if a commander notices an Airman drunk on duty, or there is criminal activity - then it can be a command-directed referral. At either facility and in either case, the process is the same, Conrad said. It starts with a clinical evaluation and assessment, based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine's standards, which measure six dimensions of addiction, Conrad said. "It's not based on one person's idea of whether it's a problem," she explained. "It's a clinical scale." Based on that assessment, a person who has an alcohol problem will be given a treatment plan. "We offer different options," Conrad said. "If they need more care than coming here once or twice a week, then we can send them to an intensive outpatient program in the community. If the problem requires more than that, we can send them to an intensive 28-day inpatient treatment program in the Lower 48." Conrad said they see "spurts" of problems. "Sometimes, we won't need to send someone out for treatment for months, and the next month we'll send four," she said. "People's drinking habits differ from season to season, and they might drink based on pay day or holidays. It changes." Some of the primary reasons for coming in, though, are steady. Underage drinking brings many service members in; sometimes domestic violence causes command referrals. "DUIs are always a big one," Conrad said. A person doesn't have to be driving to get hit with major problems, she pointed out. Alaska's law also means a person can be arrested for OUI - operator under the influence. For example, if you're sitting in your car waiting for a cab, holding the keys, you can still be arrested and charged with OUI. While it may seem unfair, the reality is that drinking lowers inhibitions and clouds judgment, Conrad said. If that person decides the taxi isn't there in time, they might drive. So when do you know it's time to get help? The ADAPT Airmen do outreach and education programs, and since April is Alcohol Awareness Month, they are available at different locations around the installation to perform screenings with brief questionnaires about drinking habits, Conrad said. Some indicators, however, would be hiding or lying about drinking habits; needing to drink more to achieve the desired effect; guilt about drinking; harming oneself or others as a result of drinking, or feeling irritable or unreasonable when not drinking. In friends and co-workers, be aware of chronic tardiness and the smell of alcohol or trouble with family, finances, or the law. "Usually you can tell, first thing in the morning, if someone has had a hard night," Conrad said. People who self-refer to the programs have confidentiality, although commanders may be notified if it's a service member who is actually enrolled in a treatment program. "There will be legal ramifications from legal issues - not because of treatment," Conrad emphasized. "If they complete the program successfully, there are no repercussions. The commander may need to be involved; if we need to enroll that person in an inpatient treatment center, the commander will have to sign off on it of course, but there's nothing negative." Of course, if a person is charged with DUI or another illegal activity, there will be consequences. But the ADAPT personnel do not provide information for that kind of thing, she said. "We're completely separate from that process." Some important things to remember, Conrad said, are easy. "Don't get behind the wheel after you've had any alcohol. Even one beer - the legal limit on JBER is .08 blood alcohol content. "Find a designated-driver program - there are dozens in this area," she said. Knowing standard drink sizes is also a must, Conrad said. "One drink" doesn't mean that drink can be as big as you want. One drink means 12 ounces of 5-percent alcohol beer. A pint is 16 ounces, or 1.3 drinks, according to the National Institute of Health. Five ounces of table wine - which is about 12 percent alcohol - is also one drink; a bottle of wine is five drinks. And hard liquor is usually 40 percent alcohol or 80 proof - just 1.5 ounces is a "drink." Depending on the recipe, a single mixed "drink" can contain three or more standard drinks. For example, a "Car Bomb" contains 14 ounces of stout beer, an ounce of Irish Cream liqueur, and an ounce of whiskey. It comes in one glass, but as far as your liver is concerned, it's three drinks or even more, depending on who pours - and it will take at least three hours to exit the body. In short, Conrad said, drink responsibly. To contact ASAP, call 384-7370 or visit Building 658. For ADAPT, call 580-2181, or visit the Mental Health Flight area at the JBER hospital.