April 1987 marked the first Alcohol Awareness Month and appropriately coincides with Spring Break for many high school and college students, some of whom are still under the legal age.

On this side of the gates, a Soldier whether of legal age or not, might be told to suck it up and press through the consequences after a night of heavy drinking.

But the Army Substance Abuse Program is trying to take a new tact with Soldiers and alcohol these days.

Prevention Coordinator for ASAP, Rex Stevenson said the Army is working hard to erase the old stigma attached to admitting your limits.

“People think because they can drink a lot and it doesn’t affect them as much as someone who doesn’t … that it’s a good thing, because I can handle my liquor,” Stevenson said.

This is what causes the problem, he says. “It’s actually the exact opposite, and can cause long-term impairment and health issues.”

ASAP’s stance is that no one is too tough for an alcohol problem. But with many susceptible, too often, Friends feel they have to out drink each other in a test of wills, Stevenson said.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that youth binge, and heavy drinking rates were 8.8 and 2 percent, respectively.

The rate of binge drinking was 41 percent for young adults aged 18 to 25, while heavy drinking was reported by 14.5 percent in that age range.

April was originally set aside to bring awareness to and target binge drinking, Stevenson said. The young age of many binge drinkers was the most immediate concern at that time.

To help the public understand that alcoholism is an addiction and a sickness is a top priority for ASAP. “We want to get the word out that it’s not a moral weakness, but a true sickness,” Stevenson said. “And alcoholics are capable of recovery.”

When a Soldier does have an alcohol-related incident, they are required to be screened by ASAP, with clinical psychologists following up with treatment dependent on each situation.

If no dependence issue is found, it may only be a one-time incident, but Soldiers may be recommended for the Department of the Army-approved curriculum called “Primed for Life.”

ASAP staff members are certified to teach the Army Drug and Alcohol Prevention Training (ADAPT) class.

Stevenson said it’s a lifestyle-related health problem, but with awareness and the proper grounding like the ADAPT class, it is possible for adults young and old to dodge spring break disasters that result from losing all control with alcohol.

A person going to a club doesn’t have to be driving to be in a dangerous position, Stevenson said. They could walk out of the club, into traffic and be hit by a car.

But accidental harm is not the only type that can arise from alcohol abuse.

The Suicide Prevention Program aims to fight the extreme situation of suicide, serving as a primary tool for education and awareness.

“The more our community is alert to warning signs, the more willing friends, Family and peers are to become engaged with an at-risk individual,” said Joe Varney, director of SPP. “And the more successful we’ll be at slowing the rate of suicide.

“If the Army can get the abuse of alcohol under control, I personally feel that it would make a significant impact on the rate of attempts and completions,” he said.

Of all Army suicides, 90 percent involve a substance of some kind, Varney said, adding that substance abuse is evident in 9 out of 10 cases.

For many, turning to alcohol is a way to self-medicate or to lend a little “liquid courage,” to the hope that one’s troubles tend to fade.

Truth be known, Varney said, inhibitions dissolve, thought processes become clouded and reckless and emboldened behaviors are more likely to result.

With direct reference to Army suicide, there are three primary catalysts, substance abuse being one of them.

As for suicide prevention, alcohol awareness matters since Varney said that an increase in quantity and frequency of alcohol use is a more predominate warning sign of suicidal ideation.

In most cases, it is easily detectable, Varney said. “Educating Soldiers and Families on signs and effects of alcohol abuse can dramatically reduce the suicides within the Army.”

What it will take is an overall willingness to become involved in the lives of those Soldiers at risk, Varney said.

Find more information on how to help those with alcohol abuse problems at http://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/.

Editor’s note: This is the first story in an Alcohol Awareness Month series. Learn about more ways to reduce the risk of alcohol abuse and some of the legal consequences of abuse.