Description
Program Overview
Seeking a way to address the many DUI’s that were occurring in the Mid-Atlantic Region, as well as an opportunity to rejuvenate the "Right Spirit" program, CNRMA assembled a group of Sailors from their Staff and asked them to investigate the possibility of starting a "Sailors Against Drunk Driving" or "SADD" program. Unfortunately, the acronym already existed for "Students Against Drunk Driving". This group of young Sailors returned with a new recommendation that would enable them to address many situations that Sailors have to make decisions that may impact their future success in life. The recommendation was to call their group the "Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions" or "CSADD".
Today, CSADD is a peer-to-peer mentorship program used Navy-wide. The program is geared at Sailors 18 to 25 years old, to reinforce our culture of "Shipmates helping Shipmates". Not only is the program used to prevent Sailors from destructive behavior but it is also used as a tool to help build leadership skills in young Sailors. The program is different because it gives young Sailors the opportunity to help each other through peer to peer interaction and to come up with their own creative ways to combat destructive behavior. CSADD helps them to tackle everything from responsible drinking to suicide prevention, in a manner which they can relate to.
The cornerstone of a CSADD chapter is discussing issues that cause Sailors to make the wrong decisions and discovering new ways to prevent Sailors from making those decisions. Each month CSADD covers a different topic of training and enables them to discuss as a group. The manner in which the topic is trained is entirely up to the chapter. CSADD gives chapters the opportunity to do things their own way and think of creative ways to tackle the topics.
A few examples of creative training ideas are creating posters, videos, or commercials to raise awareness for the monthly topics. Many chapters have used social media to discuss the topics by created Facebook pages. Some chapters have even organized briefs and information fairs related to the monthly topics.
CSADD chapters can also build comraderie amongst the Junior Sailors involved. Many chapters plan alcohol-free liberty activities like movie nights, day-trips, or sporting events for their shipmates to enjoy. These activities can help bring sailors together to have fun on liberty in a responsible way.
