 My name is E.T.2 Michael Palfrey. I'm currently one of the Holds staff duty members at TSC North Island in the Seal and Swick Attrition Office. What I like the most about the Navy is the idea of the standards that you're held to. I was having a rather tough time in life. My marriage was breaking up and I could see it coming. And I was, I suppose, in kind of a must resist mode. And then, it was Memorial Day evening, I was out with some friends who had ridden their bikes down to Pacific Beach. And when we got back up to North County, somebody pushed a beer in my face and I said, why not? The night's over. And I made that excuse, the night's over, I'm the only person that has to get home now. I had to have blacked out at some point. And it's not that I drink to excess often or that I am in the habit of having blackouts. How I got from where I left, from the bar I left to right near Alvarado Medical Center, I have no idea. I have no recollection of it. And I was actually the one that called the police. I found out later. I had the accident, then I called the police and said, hey, there's been an accident. At the moment when the cuffs went on, I just kind of sobered up and went, this is not real. This did not just happen. And it's like that moment where you just feel the whole bottom fall out of your stomach like you're falling, but you're standing still. And I went, what is gonna happen now? I also had the courts to deal with out in town. I had a $2,600 fine. I had the loss of a $25,000 car that I was so proud to have. I love that car. And I had all of these things going for me a year ago. And now they're all gone. I'm not eligible for programs, like officers' programs. I'm very close to getting my degree. All of these opportunities have been shut down to me. It's not just the financial cost and where they get you in the wallet. All the opportunities when something like this happens to you are shut down. I went and met with a command apper and he was very helpful, very understanding and he knew right where to send me to the substance abuse rehabilitation program. Our investigators talked to him and then I grabbed him in. During the treatment process, he took it in like it was his own baby. He had no problem going to alcoholics anonymous meetings. He had no problem with treatment in general. I was very surprised to see how well they split that difference of allowing me to deal and ask the questions I needed to ask myself but not letting me off the hook for the conduct that had become destructive in my life. I think the Navy's treatment program actually helped him in life. Yeah, the DUI was horrible. Getting behind the wheel and driving was horrible but going through the treatment process has made him a better sailor and a better person. You know, obviously, Pettus and Poffrey made a mistake but the thing that he needs to do is learn from it and I think he's doing that. You know, he's doing a lot of things that he needs to do. His attitude changed quite a bit. He's always motivated, he's trying to get these students, you know, in the right places. The things I do outside of work to put myself back kind of in a positive mind frame and occupy my time is a big one is weightlifting. I got back into that after being lazy for about a year after deployment. I also got back into painting which I haven't done for a couple of years. It's very nice and calming to just kind of have that one thing to focus on in front of and you get to just tune everything else out. It is very important to keep the things that you have worked so hard for. Not just the monetary things, that's important too because you have to start all over again. But the respect of your peers and the people around you. The Keep What You've Earn program is a way to show sailors that, you know, they have worked so hard in boot camp. They've worked so hard through their schools. They've worked so hard to make rank, to make their family and their community proud and to throw that away for a couple drinks. And there's just no excuse to make that kind of a decision. The math doesn't work. You can keep it going a few more hours but you know liberty's gonna expire. You're gonna have to go from where you are to home. You know that the decisions you make 24 hours a day, the Navy's gonna hold you accountable for it. And all you have to do is not make the dangerous ones.