Members of the Coalition for Sailors Against Destructive Decisions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) hosted an event in the hangar bay to raise awareness on alcohol abuse and responsible drinking habits, Oct. 25.

CSADD is a Navy-wide organization comprised of Sailors of all ages and ranks who strive to educate their shipmates on avoiding destructive decisions by providing education and techniques, which contributes to the Navy’s mission by building resiliency and maximizing personal readiness.

“Destructive decisions can really impact the ship’s mission readiness,” said Nimitz Command Master Chief Rick Mengel. “They stem from either inexperience, youthful indiscretion or people not knowing their limits. CSADD goes out and tries to exploit these destructive behaviors, identify them, and then come up with ways to combat them with events that can derail people from going out and getting into trouble.”

During the event, crew members wore goggles designed to simulate the feeling of intoxication while playing “beer pong” with red plastic cups filled with candy, and were asked trivia questions about alcohol consumption.

“We set up a game of ‘beer pong’ in the hangar bay and had Sailors don beer goggles as they made cups,” said Fire Controlman 2nd Class Corey Lilly, Nimitz CSADD President, from Saegertown, Pennsylvania.  “There were trivia questions attached to the cups related to alcohol’s effect on the human body. We hoped to draw in Sailors using typical drinking games in order to educate them about the importance of responsible drinking.”

CSADD also gave demonstrations with red plastic cups about how much alcohol is in a typical serving size at a bar or party. The CSADD members pointed out the significance of the lines on the cup and how it correlates to the proper serving sizes of alcohol.

“We took the red cups and asked shipmates to make us a drink,” said Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Elizabeth Brazzale, from Chicago. “Your one drink, one red cup, could actually be three servings of alcohol, and many Sailors don’t realize that. When they go out and say they only had one drink, one cup, what they are actually having are sometimes much more than that and that’s what we are here to educate our shipmates about.”

CSADD holds regularly scheduled events for Sailors throughout the year to promote positive choices and develop leadership through organizing local social networks, facilitating discussion, producing visual messages, promoting community involvement and hosting recreational events.                                                                                

“The red plastic cup movement teaches people what a legal drink is,” said Mengel. “We did this in an effort to educate folks on how to drink responsibly, curve destructive decisions and make sure our Sailors are coming into work rested, fresh and ready to go.”

Nimitz is conducting a docking planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility where the ship is receiving scheduled maintenance and upgrades.

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