RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Every Airman’s situation is unique, and one can never know for sure what sort of struggle or challenges their wingmen are going through. Not everyone is lucky to have friends or family to identify when an intervention is needed, but the 86th Airlift Wing used resilience funds to purchase a new resource that may help Airmen to self-assess and determine whether alcohol consumption has become an issue for them or not.
The Alcohol e-CheckUpToGo program, designed by university counseling center psychologists from San Diego State University, is an evidence-based, personalized online alcohol intervention that allows Airmen to enter information about their drinking patterns and receive feedback about their use of alcohol.
“The Alcohol e-CheckUpToGo program is tailored to the Ramstein Air Base community and available to anyone that wishes to learn more about their alcohol consumption,” said Jan Devitt, 86th AW community support coordinator.
This interactive survey takes six to 15 minutes to complete, is self-guided, requires no face-to-face contact time with a counselor or administrator, and is completely anonymous.
“Ramstein has a high percentage of young adults that are being introduced to alcohol at a younger age than their peers in the States,” said Master Sgt. Thomas Seamans, 569th U.S. Forces Police Squadron plans and programs superintendent. “This program allows them to not only identify their alcohol consumption, but also calculate the amount of money they spend per year on alcohol and tobacco products.”
The self-assessment provides accurate and detailed information about personal risk patterns, individual level of alcohol tolerance, unique family risk factors, and harm reduction strategies.
“A benefit of the program is that it allows individuals to complete the self-assessment without the pressure that may tempt or compel the individual to minimize their true consumption in fear of their career being affected, regardless of the true intent of those trying to help them,” Seamans said.
After the information entered is validated and processed, the e-CheckUpToGo calculates a number of variables and compares the user’s responses to national and local college norms. Then, personalized feedback is displayed in an easy-to-read format.
According to the San Diego State University, the program demonstrated significant reductions in destructive alcohol use among college students in 14 independent, controlled studies.
“As Airmen and Wingmen, it's our responsibility to look after one another,” Seamans said. “This program could be the first step to helping a friend or co-worker realize they need help through a non-invasive approach.”
Whatever the results of an individual’s feedback, the Alcohol e-CheckUpToGo program in no way absolves Airmen of their responsibility to seek help with identifying their personal harmful alcohol consumption habits.
Visit https://echeckup.sdsu.edu/usa/alc/mil/ramstein/#!/ to take the self-assessment.