AADD - Not the average night shift

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tiffany DeNault
  • 2nd Combat Camera Squadron
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  It's a quiet Friday night for one Airman, with mental focus at its peak for destroying dragons and taking over the globe one country at a time. The world is in his hands with only a PlayStation controller.

Suddenly the phone rings. It's back to reality in the Junior Enlisted Recreation Center, where it's time to react to a fellow airman's call.

But this isn't a typical night shift. From 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night, a small group of airmen devote their free time to the Airmen Against Drunk Driving program here.

At the JERC, volunteers wait for the dispatcher's phone to ring so they can come to the rescue and save their fellow airmen from making a bad decision. Meanwhile, they can play video games on different consoles, watch movies on the big screen, study, play board games or just serenade everyone else with snores.

Once that phone rings, everyone freezes and looks to the dispatcher. After the dispatcher takes down the caller's information, two volunteers - one male and one female - will head out on their quest.

"It's a great program," said an Airman who recently used AADD. "If it wasn't for AADD, I would be sunk since my plan failed."

Each weekend there is an assigned squadron, however some weekends are open to volunteers basewide.

"I love to volunteer to be able to give back to the community and help people in a time of need," said Senior Airman Justyn Freeman, who recently volunteered. "Making sure fellow airmen get home safe takes a big weight off my shoulders knowing that I've done my part."

Contact your unit AADD point of contact for more information and to learn when your squadron is scheduled for duty. To reach AADD, call 801-777-1111.

Editor's note: This is the second article in a series about the Airmen Against Drunk Driving program at Hill Air Force Base.