ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A reservist from Lackland AFB, Texas, is one of four Airmen competing for a Department of Defense-level safety award.
The Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Texas, announced the selection of Tech. Sgt. Anita Garcia of Air Force Reserve Command’s 433rd Airlift Wing in a news release Jan. 11. She is vying for a 2005 Government Employees Insurance Co. Military Service Award in the drug and alcohol abuse prevention category for reserve components.
Sergeant Garcia became involved in the wing’s drug demand reduction program more than eight years ago. She recently became the wing’s drug testing program manager.
The GEICO award program spotlights enlisted service members for their achievements or contributions in drug and alcohol abuse prevention, in fire safety and fire prevention, and in traffic safety and accident prevention.
Between 2001 and 2005, Sergeant Garcia collected and processed more than 4,500 drug testing samples and exceeded the command’s goal of less than 1 percent untestable rate.
She meets monthly with wing first sergeants and quarterly with the wing commander and key staff on the status of the program and trends affecting the program’s effectiveness. Sergeant Garcia explains AFRC and local policies to newcomers, telling them about fines, attorney fees and court costs for people caught driving while intoxicated. She briefs them about the Air Force’s policy on drug use.
Off-duty she goes to public schools to tell students about the effects of drug abuse on a person’s health, future employment opportunities and quality of life.
If Sergeant Garcia wins the DOD reserve component award, she will receive a plaque, a $2,500 cash honorarium, and round-trip transportation to and lodging in Washington, D.C., to attend the awards presentation this spring. (AFRC News Service)