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The Great American Smokeout
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Senior Leader Banners and GASO Statements
Senior Leader Banners and GASO Statements
Chief Master Sergeant Rodney J. McKinley, Chief Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force
“ I think for someone really trying to quit, first you’ve got to make the decision in your mind, “I am going to quit.” And understand it’s not going to be easy, but you have to make a decision that you’re going to quit. And you have to seek some professional advice to quit because if you just try doing it by yourself, it’s probably going to be very, very difficult. You’re probably going to need help along the way whether it’s nicotine patches or whatever it’s going to take. Also, you’ve got to find some other avenues to help relieve the stress and pressure, so that if you get that urge you can go do something about it. It’s a very difficult thing, and you’ve got to be committed because it’s really easy to get back and smoke that first cigarette, and then you’re right back on it again. So my advice is be very committed and don’t attempt to do this by yourself.
Go to the health and wellness center. We have all kinds of cessation classes.
Make everyone proud and join us by participating in the 2008 Great American Smokeout on November 20th and make those 24 hours your first step toward a tobacco-free future. ”
Chief Master Sergeant Manuel Sarmina, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, U.S. Air Force
“ I can speak from my own personal experience. You just have to make a determination within you that you’re going to quit this nasty habit. It’s doing nothing but destroying not only your own life but the lives of others around you, lives of the people who love you. It’s the psychological part that’s going to be most difficult because we are creatures of habit. We all have stress in our lives and we cope with those stresses—that stress level—in different ways. So for me, what was helpful for me to stop smoking cigarettes was to keep my hands occupied, because your hands are the trigger—the mechanism I should say—with which you reach for the cigarette. Paint, read a book, jog, do whatever it takes to get your mind off of smoking cigarettes. My recommendation for anyone who has a sincere desire to quit using tobacco products would be to first contact your primary care manager at their base hospital. Speak with a doctor or a nurse and inquire into smoking cessation classes on their facility, because I think that’s where they’re going to find a tremendous support mechanism. They’ll find out that they have willpower that they never believed imaginable by going through the course, and with the help of their friends and their family, they will make everyone proud with their decision to discontinue their use of tobacco products.
Make everyone proud. Join us by participating in the 2008 Great American Smokeout on November 20th and make those 24 hours your first step toward a tobacco-free future. ”
Vice Admiral Adam M. Robinson, Jr. MC, Navy Surgeon General, U.S. Navy
“ Deciding to quit is taking responsibility for yourself, for your health, for your wellness. It’s taking responsibility as role models to your children, as role models to your patients. It’s taking responsibility for your life and for making sure you can have the best possible life under the best possible conditions. We have to be very careful because this is the only body we have and the only life we have. If you make the decision to quit, please ask for help from medical professionals and providers, and we will assist you. But the key is you have to do it. It isn’t something anyone can do for you. You have to make that decision. Kicking an addiction is probably among the hardest things we will ever do. It’s an incredible feat. The power we generate with the self-possession and self-confidence it takes to stop doing something harmful to us and to start doing something to make our lives, our bodies, and our whole existence more positive is very inspiring.
So make everyone proud, be strong, and make the decision to quit!
Join us by participating in the 2008 Great American Smokeout on November 20th and make those 24 hours your first step toward a tobacco-free future. ”
Colonel Paula K. Underwood, Preventative Medicine Physician, Office of the Army Surgeon General, U.S. Army
“ I think that soldiers—military soldiers—airmen, sailors, marines—are strong. That’s our motto as you know—“Army strong.” That motto came out of the truth that it does take a lot of discipline. It takes a lot of mental and physical strength to do what we do. It’s important for soldiers to take that internal strength, which they know they have, and use that discipline to quit smoking, because they can quit. I did it. Many people have done it. And it’s important that they know that it’s possible to do that even if they’re smoking now. If they’re deployed and they’re stressed, they know it’s not going to be forever. When they come back or when they’re ready, we’re there to help them. They can do it. They have the discipline. They have to have the willpower to want to do it. They’ve got to make up their mind that they’re able to stop smoking, and we’re here to help them stop smoking. They should never, ever, ever give up, even if they think that they’re backsliding. My own story—I had quit for a while and then I started again, but once I made up my mind to stop smoking, I had the will to do it. Soldiers have the will, they have the discipline, they have the strength, and they can do this.
So, “never, ever, ever, ever give up,” to quote Churchill.
Make everyone proud. Join us by participating in the 2008 Great American Smokeout on November 20th and make those 24 hours your first step toward a tobacco-free future. ”
General Robert Magnus, Assistant Commander, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.)
“ Marines are well-known for being tough and smart and having a very strong inner strength to overcome all obstacles as individuals and as a team. Addictions like smoking require a tough resilience, a great inner strength, to give up something that’s bad for you that eventually will cause your health to deteriorate. I encourage Marines to think about this and their own toughness and resolve as warriors. Overcoming smoking and using smokeless tobacco, frequently requires help, so don’t be ashamed to talk to your health professional. You are capable of doing amazing things, and giving up a smoking habit or the use of smokeless tobacco is something that any tough, smart Marine can do.
Do the right thing. Make everyone proud. Don’t smoke.
Join us by participating in the 2008 Great American Smokeout on November 20th and make those 24 hours your first step toward a tobacco-free future. ”