MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- The Marine Corps’ most valuable asset is its Marines, and to help protect those assets, Miramar   implements the Arrive Alive Campaign and card.

Marines can use the Arrive Alive card any time to ensure they make it home after a wild night without the fear of reprimand or danger, according to Staff Sgt. Dexter D. Bolding, station substance abuse control officer.

Annually, Bolding and his staff issue each station Marines and sailors a new Arrive Alive card.  Marines are expected to keep the card with them when they go out in town.

“It’s something that’s done to keep Marines out of trouble with alcohol – to give them an alternative to drinking and driving,” Bolding said.

Bolding describes the expected use of the card as being for a trip from a bar or club to the station’s barracks or the Marines’ home if the Marine is too 0intoxicated to drive himself, according to Bolding.

“The focus of the cards prevents Marines from drinking and driving,” said Roma E. Wittmann, general accounts receivable technician, accounting department, Marine Corps Community Services, most often referred to as MCCS.

But should a sober Marine find himself stranded out in town without any means of getting back to his quarters, the Arrive Alive card is an option, according to Cpl. Tiffany A. Lawyer, adjutant’s clerk, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, here.

Serial numbers on the Arrive Alive cards provide the command a means of tracking card use.

When a Marine calls the phone number on the back of the card, a driver with the Orange Cab Company will pick the Marine up and drive him back to the barracks on station or to his home.

“If they don’t have any money, it’s not a problem,” said Sean M. Wolfe, manager of Orange Cab Company which has supported the Miramar Arrive Alive program since it was first initiated at the air station in 2000. “We’ll send a bill. They just present the card their unit issued them for payment.”

Transactions are tracked by MCCS, who ensures the Marine pays in a timely manner.

It’s the Marines’ responsibility to pay the debt by the next pay day, but should the account become delinquent, the Marine’s unit will be charged. Marines’ average a cost of $35 per card use – approximately the cost of a trip to Miramar from downtown San Diego, Wittmann estimated.

The location limits for Miramar Marines are San Ysidro to the south, El Cajon to the east and Oceanside to the north, according to Wolfe. The cab drivers cannot accept Arrive Alive cards as payment for trips extending past those boundaries.

In California, the first driving while intoxicated charge, often referred to as a DWI, can result in suspension or revocation of the driver’s license, vehicle impoundment or forfeiture, mandatory fine minimums totaling $390 (excluding court costs and lawyer fees), assignment to community service,  and mandatory treatment for alcoholism. Drivers convicted of DWI also may face paying restitution and all court costs associated with their case.

After the state processes a Marine’s DWI ticket, the Marine Corps will then take appropriate actions under the UCMJ.

“Driving while intoxicated is the dumbest ticket to get because it is highly avoidable,” said Bolding.

The Arrive Alive program is a readily accessible way for Marines to avoid this “dumbest ticket.”