NEWS: Civil Air Patrol squadrons celebrate Red Ribbon Week
October 24, 2009
FORT BELVOIR, Va. — Members of Civil Air Patrol’s Mount Vernon Composite Squadron will promote healthy, drug-free lifestyles during the observance of Red Ribbon Week.
The oldest, largest drug prevention campaign in the U.S., Red Ribbon Week is observed nationwide through Oct. 29 with a campaign themed “Better Things to Do Than Drugs.“ Nationwide, CAP wings will distribute red ribbons and conduct educational programs to show support for a drug-free lifestyle. CAP cadets also will visit schools to speak out against drug use and share tactics for saying no to illegal drugs in social settings.
The Air Force and Civil Air Patrol became involved with Red Ribbon Week in 1994, as a way to improve the lives of servicemembers’ families and children. CAP has since expanded its role to include a year-round Drug Demand Reduction Program with three major elements — education, training and community outreach. Each element is designed to bring an anti-drug message to the community, students throughout the nation and CAP members.
The origins of Red Ribbon Week date back 23 years to a local effort in Imperial Valley, Calif., to honor the memory of former resident Enrique Camarena, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent slain in March 1985 in Mexico. Members of Camarena Clubs began wearing red ribbons in the slain agent’s memory. In 1988, Congress proclaimed the final week of October as “Red Ribbon Week for a Drug-Free America.“
The Mount Vernon Composite Squadron meets Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the D.C. National Guard Armory on Davison Army Airfield. Visitors are welcome. Information is available via e-mail to dc045@natcapwg.cap.gov.
Civil Air Patrol’s National Capital Wing currently has 222 volunteer officers and senior members and 123 cadets in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Federal employees and military personnel can support CAP through the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area – CFC charity number 26757.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the Air Force with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 67 years.
For more information and media inquires about CAP and its missions in the national capital area, e-mail NatCap Wing Public Affairs at pa@natcapwg.cap.gov.
By Capt. Howard Hall
Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron public affairs officer
The oldest, largest drug prevention campaign in the U.S., Red Ribbon Week is observed nationwide through Oct. 29 with a campaign themed “Better Things to Do Than Drugs.“ Nationwide, CAP wings will distribute red ribbons and conduct educational programs to show support for a drug-free lifestyle. CAP cadets also will visit schools to speak out against drug use and share tactics for saying no to illegal drugs in social settings.
The Air Force and Civil Air Patrol became involved with Red Ribbon Week in 1994, as a way to improve the lives of servicemembers’ families and children. CAP has since expanded its role to include a year-round Drug Demand Reduction Program with three major elements — education, training and community outreach. Each element is designed to bring an anti-drug message to the community, students throughout the nation and CAP members.
The origins of Red Ribbon Week date back 23 years to a local effort in Imperial Valley, Calif., to honor the memory of former resident Enrique Camarena, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent slain in March 1985 in Mexico. Members of Camarena Clubs began wearing red ribbons in the slain agent’s memory. In 1988, Congress proclaimed the final week of October as “Red Ribbon Week for a Drug-Free America.“
The Mount Vernon Composite Squadron meets Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the D.C. National Guard Armory on Davison Army Airfield. Visitors are welcome. Information is available via e-mail to dc045@natcapwg.cap.gov.
Civil Air Patrol’s National Capital Wing currently has 222 volunteer officers and senior members and 123 cadets in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Federal employees and military personnel can support CAP through the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area – CFC charity number 26757.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the Air Force with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 67 years.
For more information and media inquires about CAP and its missions in the national capital area, e-mail NatCap Wing Public Affairs at pa@natcapwg.cap.gov.
By Capt. Howard Hall
Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron public affairs officer