News Search

Base shares award with community

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amanda Callahan
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Recently, the 319th Air Refueling Wing here was awarded the 18th Annual Secretary of Defense Community Drug Awareness Award for its comprehensive demand reduction program. During a city council meeting held Dec. 15, Col. John Scorsone, 319 ARW vice commander, and Dave Frisch, demand reduction program manager, presented the award to the mayor of Grand Forks, Michael Brown, as a token of the base's appreciation for strong cooperation between the base and Grand Forks.

"Active community involvement from Grand Forks and East Grand Forks led to the success of the program and paved the road for earning this prestigious award," noted Colonel Scorsone. "The community's acceptance and eager participation of the program increases the well-being of the entire community, not only the Airmen of Grand Forks AFB." 

The demand reduction program focuses on education, prevention, deterrence and community outreach in support of the president's National Drug Control Strategy. During Red Ribbon Week, the wing's demand reduction office distributed 10,000 ribbons to on- and off-base schools. DR reached more than 700 children during the week.
In coordination with Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Mayors' Alcohol Task Force, the program instituted a "Server Training" ordinance for the two cities to decrease alcohol accessibility to minors, train liquor establishments to recognize false IDs and identify the signs of over serving patrons. The goal is to reduce the current compliance failure rate from 33 percent to less than 5 percent. 

With innovative programs, such as the first "SPAM® not Drugs" cooking contest, and a dedicated staff, the wing's demand reduction program has earned its place as the Air Force's best drug awareness program.