Airmen at Aviano Air Base, Italy, are still allowed to drink alcohol for now, but that could change if drunken driving incidents persist, Capt. Michael Hertzog, a spokesman for the 31st Fighter Wing.
Brig. Gen. Barre R. Seguin, commander of the 31st Fighter Wing, held commander's calls Wednesday after four active-duty airmen were cited for drunken driving since Feb. 28, Hertzog told Air Force Times on Thursday.
The wing's DUI battle plan calls for implementing "condition red" if four airmen are cited for drunken driving within a 60-day period, Hertzog said. One of the options available to Seguin is implementing General Order No. 1, which would ban alcohol for airmen.
During commander's calls Wednesday, Seguin told airmen he has the authority to forbid airmen from drinking on- and off-base, but he is not doing so yet.
"As I thought this through, I thought that the right thing to do is to continue to extend my trust to you all," Seguin told airmen. "My trust, faith and confidence that those of you that are making the right decisions are going to continue to make those decisions in a personally responsible way."
He noted that the wing did not have any reported drunken driving incidents for nearly six months prior to Feb. 28, so he knows that his airmen can do better.
"Those of you who have failed to demonstrate moral courage as a wingman are going to step up because I trust that I've asked you to do that and that's exactly what you're going to do, airmen of the 31st Fighter Wing," he said.
Stars and Stripes first reported on Wednesday that Seguin had decided against banning alcohol for now.
