KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Staff of U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Army Substance Abuse Program were at the Pentagon on Friday to receive an award for their program’s drug abuse prevention, education and outreach efforts.

Kaiserslautern’s substance abuse program was the winner of the 2012 Secretary of Defense Community Drug Awareness Award. It beat out programs at Army bases around the globe and was the only overseas program among all the services to win top honors.

The highest-rated programs from the Air Force, Navy, Marines and the National Guard also received awards.

Other recipients included the Drug Demand Reduction Program, 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Altus, Okla.; Drug Education for Youth, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic, Norfolk, Va.; the Drug Demand Reduction Program, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Yuma, Ariz.; and the Counterdrug Program, Drug Demand Reduction, South Dakota National Guard, Rapid City, S.D.

Now in its 22nd year, the award is given to military installations or programs with the best anti-drug programs, according to a Defense Department news release.

The awards are presented in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, an annual national observance that occurs from Oct. 23-31 to raise public awareness and mobilize communities to fight substance abuse, according to the release.

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