Navy kicks off HERO campaign for designated drivers

VIRGINIA BEACH

As part of a growing campaign to stem drunken driving, the Navy has joined the movement to turn designated drivers into heroes.

The kickoff ceremony, held Friday at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base's recreation center, is the latest step in a couple's mission to make sure something good comes of their son's death.

On July 22, 2000, Ensign Bill Elliott and his girlfriend were on their way from Annapolis, Md., to his New Jersey home. He had just graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was heading home to celebrate his mother's birthday.

An SUV came into Elliott 's lane and struck his car head-on, killing the driver and Elliott and seriously injuring Elliott's girlfriend. The driver had been charged with driving while intoxicated several hours before and released, only to get back behind the wheel.

After that, Elliott 's parents, Bill and Muriel Elliott, made combatting drunken driving their mission.

"We made a pledge we'd bring John along with us," Bill Elliott said.

While the concept of designated driving has been around for some time, Bill Elliott said it hasn't been promoted nearly enough.

"People knew about it, but they weren't doing it," he said.

The HERO campaign is the remedy, he said, both a rebranding and a call to action. The program takes its name from John Elliott's time at the Naval Academy, where he served as a human education resource officer, or HERO, counseling and mentoring his fellow students. At graduation, he was named HERO of his class.

Bill Elliott says this type of positive peer pressure can help end drunken driving, which he called "the most preventable crime in the country."

The program began in New Jersey, which made it part of its highway safety program. Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania followed, as did Virginia in August.

The Elliotts are also working with football's New York Giants and baseball's Philadelphia Phillies to give the program a presence in professional sports.

Now that the Navy has adopted it, the intent is to spread it to the various regions and eventually throughout the service, said Marie Parker, alcohol and drug control officer at the Navy's Fleet Forces Command, which is sponsoring the program with the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region morale, welfare and recreation program.

Actions include putting cards on tables at locations on bases where alcohol is served, asking who the designated driver is, and offering free soft drinks and water for those doing the driving.

"We want to change sailors' attitudes," said Rear Adm. Mark Buzby of Fleet Forces Command.

"Ensign Elliott will always be one of us," he said. "He dreamed of serving his country. Now he's getting his chance."

Bill Elliott was upbeat Friday when talking about the campaign.

"I'm glad we're able to bring this to a level we only dreamed of years ago," he said, before turning again to talk about his son. "He would've done great things in his life. We're trying to do great things in his memory."

Muriel Elliott echoed that sentiment.

"What better Christmas present can you give than to be a designated driver?" she asked the crowd. "Every mother is always waiting up."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com