Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force; Maj. Gen. Peter J. Talleri, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations Pacific and Marine Corps Base Camp Butler; Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew H. Molloy, commander of 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base; and Navy Capt. Richard Weathers, commander of Fleet Activities Okinawa, met to kick off the 3D campaign.

The 3D campaign is a joint service agreement intended to raise awareness of the dangers involved in drunk and drugged driving.

“The campaign is run by all four services, which gives us a joint effort across Okinawa,” said Gunnery Sgt. Sonny J. Medina, the platoon sergeant for military police district south, Provost Marshal’s Office on Camp Foster.

National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month was started in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan in an attempt to increase community awareness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The holiday season is about to begin, and there will be a lot of people taking leave and throwing parties,” said Medina. “We just want to raise awareness of the risks involved with driving after consuming alcohol.”

During the campaign there will be enhanced gate security, increased sobriety checkpoints, and wrecked vehicles on display to remind drivers of the consequences of driving impared.

“We will be conducting random DUI checks, as well as placing a wrecked vehicle on Kadena Air Base to remind drivers to be safe,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Clayton Watson, the operations superintendant for 18th Security Forces Squadron, Kadena Air Base.

According to the National Commission Against Drunk Driving, someone dies from an alcohol-related traffic accident every 30 minutes, someone is injured in an alcohol-related accident every two minutes, and three out of 10 Americans face the possibility of being directly involved in an alcohol-related traffic crash during their lifetime.

“There have been 29 reported cases of accidents involving alcohol in Okinawa this year,” said Medina.

There are a number of options available for drivers to prevent drunk driving, including a designated driver, taxis and Daiko. Daiko is a service where two drivers are dispatched to the location of an intoxicated individual; one takes the person home, while the other follows in the individual’s personal vehicle to the intoxicated individual’s residence.

“The most important thing we want to do is make people realize that there are alternatives to driving under the influence,” Medina said. “It’s not worth losing your pay, rank or career, and it is absolutely not worth losing your life or taking someone else’s.”