Poor decision-making changed my life

Published July 16, 2014
By 1st Lt. Justin Leo
Airman-to-Airman Safety Advisory Council

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- First in a series
Just like you, I never thought I would make a decision so bad that it could have killed me. But that's what happened. Here's my story:

I was stationed in Germany and after working a night shift I decided to have a few beers at a friend's house while watching a football match. Before leaving, I took a prescribed medication that I received from the clinic a few days before. I didn't notice the warning that it wasn't meant to be taken with alcohol.

After watching the game we walked to a nearby bar for another drink and met up with a few more friends. I hadn't slept for over 24 hours by this time and decided I needed to get home and sleep. Rather than stay at my friend's house, I insisted I was OK to drive since my home was only a couple of miles away. I took the back roads home, and it began to rain. I was coming around a turn too fast and lost control of my car, hitting a tree at about 40 mph. Luckily, I was wearing my seatbelt and the airbags successfully deployed. Once I came to, I called the police to report the incident. After the fact, the fire department said that if I had not been wearing my seatbelt I would not have walked away.

The next call was to my first sergeant to let him know that I would most likely be going to prison for driving while under the influence of alcohol. I had never been in any trouble like this before so it was an extremely eye opening experience. I was brought to a German jail where they took blood and wrote down my information. A few hours later Air Force Security Forces picked me up from that jail and I was put in cuffs again to be transported onto base. I was processed by security forces and given a sobriety test, which I failed.

Without sleep, slightly injured, and intoxicated, I was in no shape to give a written statement so I was released into the custody of my squadron commander. That was one of the most difficult moments of my life. I could see the disappointment all over his face and I simply could not come up with words to describe how sorry I was that I let him down. Over the next two days I was confined to my home to think about the series of poor decisions I made that resulted in such a terrible outcome. I kept asking myself: Why had I not slept a few hours during the day and gradually adjusted to the new schedule? Why did I decide to go out without a plan? Why did I drive home rather than stay at my friend's house?

In the weeks that followed, I was given an Article 15 and a Letter of Reprimand from the wing commander. I also lost one month's pay along with all driving privileges for one year. I became a burden on friends because they had to drive me to work, to get groceries, and all the other little trips into town that I used to take for granted. My chances for promotion became extremely slim and the great Airmen that I worked with now had a reason to doubt my judgment.

While this was a terrible experience, I have walked away with a greater understanding of how a combination of poor choices can lead to serious consequences. I was lucky that no one was injured, but this event had the potential for a much grimmer outcome. It reinforced the fact that it is essential to always have a plan before you go out and to have at least one backup plan in case your original plans fall through. A taxi after a night of drinking is a small cost to pay when compared to the consequences of drunk driving. Could you explain to a victim's family that it was just too expensive to get a cab? Could you look them in the eye and say you didn't want to inconvenience a friend by waking them up to give you a ride?

Everyone thinks it can't happen to them until it does and, by then, it's too late.

(Editor's note: The Airman-to-Airman Safety Advisory Council is an Air Force Chief of Safety peer-to-peer program of Airmen who share their experiences with life-changing mishaps in support of the Air Force mishap prevention program.)