RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Randolph Air Force Base is getting a head start on a new Air Force initiative to assist Airmen who are involved in alcohol-related misconduct.
Airmen who are referred to the Randolph Mental Health Clinic for alcohol-related misconducts, or ARMS, will be required to participate in the new Alcohol Brief Counseling prevention program, which is now part of the Air Force's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program.
ABC will replace the Substance Abuse Awareness Seminar, which was a required six-hour educational class for servicemembers involved in an alcohol-related incident.
Air Force installations have until May 9 to implement the ABC program. The Randolph ADAPT program started using ABC in early March.
Tech Sgt. Brett Abbas, 12th Medical Operations Squadron ADAPT Non-commissioned officer in charge, said the ABC sessions, held at the Mental Health Clinic, will allow counselors to reach out to people on a more personal level.
"The counseling sessions are more individually tailored to meet an Airman's specific need," Sergeant Abbas said. "The SAAS sessions could have from four to 40 people in a group. ABC provides more of a one-on-one situation for Airmen to voice their concerns versus being in a group setting and telling everyone."
Master Sgt. Gary Scott, 12th MDOS Mental Health Flight Non-commissioned officer in charge, said the one-on-one sessions help the individual feel more comfortable talking about his or her individual concerns.
"ABC is a better method of insuring privacy," Sergeant Scott said.
Sergeant Abbas said the Air Force is going to individual counseling sessions because alcohol recidivism rates Air Force-wide are high.
"Randolph doesn't have a high recidivism rate, but we still want to provide the most effective care for Team Randolph," he said.
Sergeant Scott said the ABC sessions will cover topics such as anxiety, stress management, nutrition, sleep deprivation, values, decision making, family issues and the social impact of substance abuse.
"Depending on the client's situation, we tailor the topics to meet the individual's specific needs," he said. "The sessions last anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour. Our goal here is to get Airmen back to work as soon as possible."