{"id":197823,"date":"2024-06-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=197823"},"modified":"2024-06-14T01:10:05","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T01:10:05","slug":"great-big-podcast-launches-series-for-kiss-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=197823","title":{"rendered":"Great Big Podcast launches series for KISS campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Representatives from the Fort Cavazos Army Substance Abuse program pose with Soldiers in front of the Keep it a Safe Summer, or KISS, backdrop to kick off the campaign, which runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Representatives from ASAP sat down with the crew of the Great Big Podcast as part of the KISS series to promote a safe summer.
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas\u00a0\u2014 <\/strong>When the Department of Defense encourages everyone to KISS, it\u2019s not referring to the smooches planted on cheeks or blown through the air, but rather keeping it a safe summer for Soldiers, family members, veterans and civilians throughout the organization and beyond.<\/p>\n

The DOD-sponsored Keep it a Safe Summer campaign is aimed at mitigating high-risk behaviors associated with the bustling summer season.<\/p>\n

The annual campaign is observed from Memorial Day through Labor Day, coinciding with the 101 Critical Days of Summer initiative to increase awareness of potential risks related to off-duty recreational activities during the hottest, most active days of summer.<\/p>\n

To expand on the push to enjoy a safe summer and promote the KISS campaign all season long, the crew of the Great Big Podcast is presenting a series of podcasts featuring various Fort Cavazos directorates and organizations to discuss how to enjoy summer festivities safely.<\/p>\n

The podcast kicked off the KISS series just before the Memorial Day holiday with representatives from the Fort Cavazos Garrison Safety Office who highlighted the importance of vehicle and motorcycle safety on and off the installation during the busy summer season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe KISS campaign is important because it affects everyone,\u201d said Michael Hampton, director of Safety for III Armored Corps, during the podcast. \u201cOur mission as the Corps is to send troops anywhere in the world at any time, and we have to be ready for that. Recreational activities, whether it\u2019s vehicles, motorcycles, weapons, hunting or anything else; if we lose a Soldier, that affects readiness. If we lose a family member, that affects the Soldier. So, everything has a cascading trickledown effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is imperative that we take care of each other and have fun in a safe manner,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Taking care of one another is what the KISS campaign is all about, conveyed Ronald Smiley, Fort Cavazos Army Substance Abuse Program prevention coordinator, and Jannan Melendez, Fort Cavazos ASAP prevention branch chief, during the second episode of the Great Big Podcast KISS series to raise awareness about alcohol and substance abuse during one of the most celebrated seasons of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ASAP goal this summer is to highlight and raise awareness of using alcohol during the summer months and trying to protect one of the number one resources \u2014 the Soldiers themselves,\u201d Smiley said. \u201cThis campaign gives the leadership right here on Fort Cavazos and III (Armored) Corps the opportunity to speak to Soldiers about drinking and driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The podcast focused on the safest ways to enjoy some of the most popular summer activities, like drinking, boating, swimming and traveling.<\/p>\n

Smiley said having a plan in place, ensuring there is a sober designated driver or a rideshare available, celebrating at home or celebrating without alcohol can help ensure Soldiers have fun in a safe manner.<\/p>\n

Melendez added conducting self-assessments, analyzing habits, identifying what needs to change and being aware of surroundings are also vital to keeping festivities safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecisions happen in the blink of an eye and that can have a lasting impact on not only yourself, but others,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, sometimes, we don\u2019t think it will happen to us, but it can, and it does, and it will. So, we really have to be intentional and be mindful of what we are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melendez also put the KISS acronym in perspective to better understand its impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kiss the ones that we love \u2026 that we hold dear, so when we allow ourselves to be inebriated or be in a state where we\u2019re not as reactive, we\u2019re not able to truly care for those that we love, the ones that we hold dear,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m always wanting to encourage people to think about the things that we plan for and those that we don\u2019t plan for. So, I want to encourage everyone to keep it safe so you can sustain. Keep it safe for you, keep it safe for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smiley reiterated the sentiments by reminding those at the Great Place to think about the three \u201cF\u2019s\u201d \u2014 family, friends and the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody deserves to have a good summer, and we want to see everybody back safely,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

To listen to the full episode, go to\u00a0https:\/\/greatbigpodcast.buzzsprout.com\/<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Representatives from the Fort Cavazos Army Substance Abuse program pose with Soldiers in front of the Keep it a Safe Summer, or KISS, backdrop to kick off the campaign, which runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Representatives from ASAP sat down with the crew of the Great Big Podcast as part of the KISS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197825,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=197823"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197826,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197823\/revisions\/197826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/197825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=197823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=197823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=197823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}