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Cadet Airmen Basic William Durham and Sierra Baumhoefener of the Winchester Composite Squadron assist a student through the Fatal Vision obstacle course.
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Students line up to participate in the Fatal Vision demonstration.
Capt. Christopher Colvin
Public Affairs Officer
Winchester Composite Squadron
Virginia Wing
VIRGINIA -- The Middle East Region and Virginia and Maryland wings, with the Virginia Wing’s Winchester Composite Squadron playing a particularly prominent role, represented Civil Air Patrol’s Drug Demand Reduction program at this year’s Aviation Expo, which drew more than 600 students, faculty, parents and guests from schools in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
The DDR program promotes an aggressive, positive, drug-free attitude in CAP members, Air Force families, Department of Defense civilians and school-age children through a comprehensive approach.
The program
- Stresses CAP as a positive community-service lifestyle.
- Encourages youth to remain in school.
- Focuses on drug abuse education, prevention and awareness.
- Provides positive activities as an alternative to drugs and gang violence.
Members from the region and wings’ respective headquarters spoke with hundreds of people as they visited the Drug Demand Reduction display set up a short distance from other exhibitors, such as the Transportation Safety Administration and the West Virginia Air National Guard.
“Many of the students participated in the Drug Demand Reduction demonstration and learned just how impaired they could be on their own or in driving with someone else who had been drinking,” said Lt. Col. Duke Stanton, the Winchester squadron’s deputy commander for seniors. “I hope they took the demonstrations to heart.”
First Lt. Walt Murphy, assistant Drug Demand Reduction coordinator for the Middle East Region and Drug Demand Reduction administrator for the Maryland Wing, said that CAP’s “participation in events like this Aviation Expo do more than increase awareness of the CAP Drug Demand Reduction program.”
A highlight of the display was the Drug Demand Reduction obstacle course using Fatal Vision goggles designed to impair the wearer’s vision in simulation of the effect of alcohol or narcotics use. The impact of watching people try to perform the simplest while wearing the goggles was funny to some and sobering to others.
When the participants removed the goggles at the end of the course, they were asked if they would drive in the condition they just experienced or ride with someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The answers always came with a quick shake of the head.
Murphy said “The most important thing I take away from an event like this is, we get to reach kids from the elementary school age range to the young adults going to college.
“Before they have been reached by drug abuse, they get to see, while sober, what some of their actions would be like if impaired. They get the problems with perception. Sometimes they get the nausea associated with being drugged or drunk. They get the loss of balance.
The difference is, this time they can take it off,” he said. “They can make it stop.
“The reality of drug abuse is, you can’t take that off like a pair of Fatal Vision goggles.”
