March 24, 2003 —  Military police from base installations throughout the Pacific will receive Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) training from a cadre of DARE instructor trainers who work for city police departments in the U.S. The training is taking place at the New Sanno Hotel, Tokyo, Japan from March 18 to April 4, 2003. Following the training, candidates will receive the knowledge and skills to teach the DARE curriculum in a classroom setting to elementary and middle school students SY 2003–2004 and will become certified as DARE officers.

     D.A.R.E. is a substance abuse prevention education program designed to equip elementary and middle school children with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. D.A.R.E. provides added attention to fifth grade students to prepare them for entry into middle school, where they are most likely to encounter pressures to use, experiment, or become addicted to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. This year, a new middle school curriculum (grades 6, 7, 8) is being introduced. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) selected D.A.R.E. as the primary drug education program for the system. Physical Education and Health Specialist, DoDDS Pacific, stated that “the D.A.R.E. curriculum integrates and coincides very well with the newly adopted Health curriculum and related materials.”

D.A.R.E. lessons are highly structured activities that focus on four major areas:
1.1 Provide accurate information about tobacco, alcohol, and drugs
1.2 Teach students decision-making skills and anti-violence conflict resolution
1.3 Show students how to resist peer pressure
1.4 Give students ideas for alternatives to drugs

     D.A.R.E. was developed in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and was adopted by Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) in 1986.

     “D.A.R.E. has been well received in DoDDS Pacific,” stated the Physical Education and Health Specialist. “Last year 13,517 students in grades K–5 and 1,889 eighth graders received training in Korea, Japan, and Okinawa districts. D.A.R.E. has received strong support from our military communities. All elements of the community—the command structure through the variety of service organization to parent, school administrators, and the students themselves, continue to enthusiastically support the D.A.R.E. program. The D.A.R.E. school graduation ceremonies are some of the most well attended and support in our schools and communities. The D.A.R.E. program is a very positive influence,” said the specialist.