Due to abuse of the sober ride program at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, airmen now have to show their common access cards and identify their squadron if they need a free ride home after drinking.
Technical Sgt. Sabrina Land, the program manager for the 572-RIDE program, said in an interview that bar-hopping officers abusing the system led wing commander Col. Robert Kiebler and Command Chief Master Sgt. Scott Loescher to order it to start taking names in August.
Land said some officers were “pulling rank” and trying to get the two volunteers in each car — who are often first-term enlisted airmen — to drive them to another bar instead of going home, as the program is intended.
In a Sept. 24 release on 572-RIDE, Holloman said that change “is in no way used against those who need to use” the sober ride program, which seeks to curb drunk driving among military members.
Land said the second volunteer in the passenger seat also writes down who uses the program. That information is kept on file.
Land said recording names has not discouraged airmen from using the sober ride program. She said that the program provided about 100 rides home in September, about the same as in August. The program has provided more than 800 rides home so far this year, Land said.
She said that requiring people to identify themselves has cut down on abuse of the system.
“We think people are behaving more,” Land said.
The 572-RIDE program runs between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. every Friday and Saturday in the Holloman area.
