CARIBOU — Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members of the County Composite Squadron (CCS) will promote healthy, drug-free lifestyles during a local observance of Red Ribbon Week which runs from Oct. 24 – 30.
During the last CCS meeting on Oct. 26 at the Caribou Airport, local CAP leaders were slated to discuss with cadets all the programs available to them as an alternative to drugs — Aerospace Education, Emergency Services, and Cadet Programs such as the Cyber Patriot competition that tests the ability of students to defend a simulated corporate network from external hostile attacks.
CAP Cadets were also scheduled to hand out the red ribbons at school and explain to their peers all the programs available to youths as Cadets in the Civil Air Patrol. The Drug Demand Reduction Education Program promotes the CAP as a positive community service lifestyle and encourages youth to stay in school; the program also focuses on drug abuse education, prevention and awareness, providing positive activities as an alternate to drugs.
This will be the fifth year that The County Composite Squadron will be involved with the Red Ribbon Program.
“I feel this is a great community activity for our cadets,” said CAP Capt. PAO Ray Burby. “We should teach our cadets that a drug free life can take you far in life.”
The oldest, largest drug prevention campaign in the U.S., Red Ribbon Week will be observed nationwide on Oct. 24-30 with a campaign themed “I Am Drug-Free.” Nationwide, Civil Air Patrol wings will distribute red ribbons and conduct educational programs as a way to show support for a drug-free lifestyle.
The U.S. Air Force and Civil Air Patrol became involved with Red Ribbon Week in 1994 as a way to improve the lives of service members’ families and children. CAP has since expanded its role to include a year-round Drug Demand Reduction Program with three major elements – education, training and community outreach. Each element is designed to bring an anti-drug message to the community, students throughout the nation and CAP members.
The origins of Red Ribbon Week date back 25 years to a local effort in Imperial Valley, Calif., to honor the memory of former resident Enrique Camarena, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent slain in March 1985 in Mexico. Members of Camarena Clubs began wearing red ribbons in the slain agent’s memory. In 1988, Congress proclaimed the final week of October as “Red Ribbon Week for a Drug-Free America.”
Red Ribbon Week has since grown to be the nation’s best-known drug prevention program. Participants annually include schools, businesses, government, military, service organizations, law enforcement, religious institutions, adults and youth who wear the red ribbon to show their support for the campaign.
