Page 22 - The Dispatch September 2018

OUR FORCE Villa-Smith has already met with key players
in the community who are on board with
starting a coalition that will address the is-
sues in the area.

Dr. Dwight Vick, who has a doctoral degree in
public administration with a concentration in
substance abuse policy, is one of them.

Story and Photo By: 1st Lt. Nadine Wiley De Moura “The coalition is in the building process,” Vick
100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment said. “Without Spc. Villa-Smith it is not going
to happen—without that Guard, military sup-
AMARILLO, Texas - Spc. Samuel Villa-Smith “This region is my home, where everything is port.”
looked on to Lake Meredith in the small town for me: family, churches, schools,” Villa-Smith
of Fritch, Texas, just 36 miles north of Amaril- said. “Civil Ops provides me with the oppor- Vick explained that the community is very
lo, with a pensive gaze. He clutched the only tunity to help fight this enormous battle that supportive of military personnel and families
photo he had left of him and his father, who is taking this community over. This communi- and that having them involved will provide
died from an overdose in 2016. ty has struggles with meth, cocaine, heroin, immediate credibility when addressing is-
prescription addiction and alcoholism.” sues.
Villa-Smith smiled and shared some of the
only good memories he had of his father be- As a civil operator, Villa Smith will coach, “There have been coalition efforts in the past,
fore he left his family when he was nine years train, facilitate, lead and support coalition but in my opinion they have fallen because
old. and community-based organizations in an ef- people are not able to separate personal and
fort to impact substance abuse in his region. professional viewpoints, and there was no
“My father taught me everything I know uniting force to pull everyone together,” Vick
about fishing and camping at this exact spot,” For Villa-Smith the counterdrug mission is explained. “With the National Guard coming
Villa-Smith said. “The last time I was here personal. in, they will help provide support and direc-
with him I was 7 years old and found a Na- tion to go forward and combat the substance
tive American spearhead. My father had us “Growing up with my father like that was abuse problem.”
turn it in to the museum because it was the a world of terror and a world of constant
right thing to do. Memories like that remind heartache seeing him sell everything he had Vick said that their first line of order would
me that he was a good man, he was just over- to get his next fix,” Villa-Smith said. “Seeing be targeting schools, since children are on
come by his addiction.” him completely passed out from the drugs. the front line of the issue. The children come
He was so far gone and the more he took the from homes with addiction which results in
Villa-Smith, a Soldier with the 1st Squadron, greater his tolerance became and he needed instability and behavioral issues.
124th Cavalry Regiment, was recently chosen more and more. It ended my mother’s mar-
to lead civil operations in the Texas Panhan- riage to him. It destroyed all of us.” “Spc. Villa-Smith is the face of what the prob-
dle region with the Texas National Guard Joint lem can be like for families,” Vick said. “This
Counterdrug Task Force. Villa-Smith, who enlisted in 2011, said his has to be treated for the individual, fami-
father’s experience with addiction was what ly and community, which is why having the
The Panhandle, slightly larger than the size motivated him to come back and contribute military involved is critical because they can
of West Virginia, is a region rich in oil fields, to Amarillo and the wider Texas Panhandle provide the guidance and social support that
agriculture and wind turbines, nestled among region. people can rely on and they can work within
miles and miles of plains and geological for- the community with the coalitions.”
mations like the Palo Duro Canyon. “When I joined the counterdrug program I
had a personal vendetta,” Villa-Smith said. Although, Villa-Smith is the only one current-
For natives like Villa-Smith, the region is also ly assigned to the region, he will be strategiz-
OUR FORCE
known as a high-intensity drug trafficking Villa-Smith explained that civil operations are ing with his Area Team Leader, 1st Sgt. War-
area. focused on long-term, multigenerational, cul- ren Bainbridge, who has extensive knowledge
tural and community change that will involve on the civil operations program and has been
In 2015, Amarillo was one of the four top-25 cultivating coalitions and focusing on preven- with the Counterdrug program for over a de-
cities in the United States for opioid abuse, tion. cade.
according to the Texas Health and Human
Services Commission. “We can probably intercept more people and “A lot of people have good intentions here,
their behaviors now,” Villa-Smith said. “I’m and we will be synthesizing efforts to provide
The Drug Enforcement Administration's Na- just thinking about what would have hap- leadership and guidance so that they can
tional Clandestine Laboratory Register identi- pened if my father had those opportunities, make an impact on the community,” Bain-
fied that three of the top 11 counties in Texas resources and people who actually cared bridge said. “The plan is to move forward
with meth labs were in the Panhandle. about him in the community. We could have with basic things, do a business plan to ramp
made a difference.” up and when they get funding step off into
action.”

22 TheDISPATCH SEPTEMBER 2018