National Guard Counterdrug Governors' State Plans Program
Partnership
Opportunities for Coalitions to Work
with the
National Guard Counterdrug Program
by April Brubach
Community anti-drug coalitions can gain access to a wide variety of free resources
by partnering with their state Counterdrug Coordinator of the National Guard
Counterdrug Governors’ State Plans Program. Available resources include
educational materials, on- and off-site training and presentations for youth
and adult audiences, mentoring services, conference support, facilities, equipment,
supplies, and manpower. The National Guard Counterdrug Program seeks to eliminate
the use, production, importation, and distribution of illegal drugs. One of
its missions is drug demand reduction through the support of drug prevention
programs within local communities.
There are many ongoing partnerships between the state National Guard Counterdrug
Program and community anti-drug coalitions. The support of coalitions through
these relationships helps sustain local prevention efforts. Examples of two
geographically diverse organizations that currently benefit from this National
Guard Counterdrug Program include South Dakota’s Community Prevention
City/County Alcohol & Drug Programs and Guam’s Island Girl Power.
The Directors of these efforts speak of the vital support they receive through
the Program.
“The Guard has been a constant source of support and assistance in our
prevention efforts”, notes Sue Collins of South Dakota’s Community
Prevention, City/County Alcohol & Drug Programs. “Members of the Drug
Demand Reduction unit, specifically SSgt Christine Pozorski and Sgt Kenneth
Wheeler, attend meetings, offer technical assistance, and extend opportunities
for the entire state of South Dakota to work together in our prevention efforts.”
Collins says that many coalitions and events in South Dakota were made possible
by the contribution of the South Dakota National Guard Counterdrug Program,
“We continue to value their expertise and competence and know that they
will have up-to-date and accurate information in regard to drugs, alcohol and
any new trends that are about to happen. We depend on the National Guard and
appreciate their many and numerous efforts to sustain the work we do. Without
them, prevention in this state would suffer.”
South Dakota's Y2Y
Guam’s Island Girl Power, a non-profit
prevention education and positive alternatives program for girls, also appreciates
all that the Guam National Guard Counterdrug Program has been willing to do
for them. Juanita Blaz, Island Girl Power’s Volunteer Program Director
says, “Our work with the Guam Army National Guard has been very beneficial
to our program. They have been very accommodating to every possible situation
that has been presented. The ROPES Program was my first experience with the
Counter Drug Program. They were asked to help us with our first all girl assembly
in the southern most middle school. The assembly contained about 250 girls.
They kept their attention and encouraged participation. All involved were very
grateful for their presence.”
Island Girl Power in Guam
What
Coalitions Can Do:
Community anti-drug coalitions that want to explore the options of support available
through this National Guard Program should contact their state Counterdrug Coordinator
to discuss the available resources. First, visit the National
Guard Counterdrug Web site and click on your state. The Web site will then
list the phone number and email address for your state Counterdrug Coordinator.
Call and take the next step in locating resources to help sustain your coalition’s
efforts.
Another way to connect with National Guard Counterdrug Program is through their
network of training centers. Five regional centers offer an array of training
suitable for community anti-drug coalitions. For example, the Northeast Counterdrug
Training Center in Ft. Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania has several free courses
that may be of interest to community coalitions:
Coalition Building – The interactive course is designed to help
communities launch, build, organize, market, and sustain their coalition.
Criminal Street Gang Identification - Acquaints the individual with
the history and organization of gangs, legal definitions, identifiers, graffiti,
hand signs, drug dealing activities, field interview reports, documentation
and officer safety.
Drug Identification Seminar - Designed to train demand reduction professionals,
health professionals and educators in the recognition of narcotics, controlled
substances and over-the-counter substances that are commonly abused.
Grant Writing - Practical course that provides participants with the
fundamental skills needed to research, develop, write and submit grant proposals.
The course covers concepts of grant development, how to create the components
of a grant, funding source research and identification and how to develop goals,
objectives and an evaluation plan.
Pathways to Effective Programs and Positive Outcomes – A practitioner's
guide to effective prevention. Designed to help participants become educated
consumers so that they can work confidently and comfortably with anyone who
can help them achieve and demonstrate their success.
Coalitions can explore the training and facilities available through the National
Guard Counterdrug Program by visiting the website of the regional training center
nearest their community:
Northeast Counterdrug Training Center (NCTC)
Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA & Camp Douglas, WI
www.counterdrug.org
Western Regional Counterdrug Training (WRCT)
Camp San Luis Obispo, CA
www.wrct.us
Midwest Counterdrug Training Center (NCTC)
Camp Dodge, IA
www.counterdrugtraining.com
Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training (MCTFT)
St. Petersburg, FL
www.mctft.com
Regional Counterdrug Training Academy (RCTA)
Meridian NAS, Meridan, MS
www.rcta.org
The National Guard Counterdrug Governors’ State Plans Program also plays
a vital role in helping CADCA support community anti-drug coalitions. On a national
level they have provided extensive conference and logistical support to CADCA.
In addition, the Program’s Northeast Counterdrug Training Center (NCTC)
is a major partner in CADCA’s National Coalition Institute’s National
Training Initiative. NCTC is the pilot training site for the Initiative and
is providing lodging, logistics and instructional support to the first group
of coalition trainees. CADCA, the Institute and local community anti-drug coalitions
appreciate the dedication of the Counterdrug Staff and the quality and level
of support offered by this National Guard Program.