AA Armed Services 12th-stepper list

The Problem

It can be very difficult for people serving in the Royal Navy, the Army, and the Royal Air Force who think they may have a drinking problem to seek help. They may be fearful of the reaction of the authorities if they find out; they may think that their colleagues will conclude there is something wrong with them if they do not drink with them; or they may think that no one in AA will understand the circumstances of service life, or even speak the same ‘language’.

This does not mean that a suffering alcoholic or problem drinker in the services is ‘special and different’ but it does mean that their environment can make joining AA seem harder than for the civilian.

The Solution

AA therefore maintains a list of AA members who are currently serving, or who used to serve, in the Armed Forces – members who can talk to the service person in familiar language and with an understanding of their environment. This confidential list is used to provide telephone responders with names and phone numbers of these members in their local area. Apart from the military aspect, the Armed Forces 12th-stepper performs an identical function to that of a standard 12th-stepper.

The list itself is a continually updated confidential Google Doc. The link is given to Regional Telephone Liaison Officers. They then arrange for this information to be available to telephone responders, who can then offer this service to callers if it emerges in the call that they have a military connection. The choice of talking to an Armed Services 12th-stepper or not is up to the caller.

How you can help

All volunteers wishing to be Armed Services 12th-steppers should provide the following information to the current updater of the list at aservices1.sc@aamail.org

1. First name and initial
2. Contact telephone number
3. The area of the country you can cover, plus AA region and intergroup
4. Email address (if available, to help us keep in touch with you)
5. Unavailable times
6. Optional: year of sobriety, and armed services experience (e.g. ‘ex-army’, ‘current navy officer’, ‘spouse of serviceman’, or ‘none’.)

Thank you for your support

National Armed Services Sub-Committee