09/08/2026
Ready, Set, Sink
FORT RILEY, Kansas (Sept. 8, 2026) — Irwin Army Community Hospital joined Fort Riley’s 5th annual Sobriety Floats Your Boat event Sept. 3, 2026, sending two teams of Soldiers to Moon Lake for a day of cardboard boat building, paddling, team building and community awareness.
Hosted by the Fort Riley Army Substance Abuse Program, the event challenged teams of four to build a vessel using only cardboard and duct tape, then raced around a buoy and back without sinking. The competition was both an engineering challenge and a team-building morale event, while at the same time relaying the larger message on sobriety and connectedness.
“We needed to be a part of it,” said LTC Janna Gaddy, chief of nursing operations at Irwin Army Community Hospital, who assembled two hospital teams for the event. “IACH is a part of the installation, and we wanted to represent the organization and let them know that we’re here, and we stand behind the message of su***de prevention.”
The hospital entered two teams of four Soldiers:
• Team “Contractions & Concoctions”: MAJ Lucy McNamee, Labor and Delivery chief nurse officer in charge; SFC Laith Edinger, Labor and Delivery noncommissioned officer in charge; MAJ Tiffany Massenburg, chief of hospital education and training; and CPT Karina Gonzalez, pharmacist.
• Team “Cat Bite”: LTC Janna Gaddy, chief nursing operations; SFC Michael Mounger; SFC Jeffrey Hanselman; and 2LT Miranda Miller, medical/surgical chief nurse officer in charge.
The event originally began during the COVID-19 pandemic to recognize Alcohol Awareness Month in April. However, according to Eric Fleuter, Fort Riley ASAP prevention coordinator, the boat race was transitioned to September to align with Su***de Prevention Month.
Along with the date change came a crucial rule update: every boat must now have at least two Soldiers on board.
“It’s a subtle message, but an important one,” Fleuter said. “Even when you’re out racing a cardboard boat, you’re not alone. There’s somebody in the boat with you. No matter if the water gets rocky and it feels like you might go down, you don’t have to face it by yourself.”
Fleuter said that the annual event is recognized by Installation Management Command as an enterprise best practice. It serves as an accessible, high-energy way to start vital conversations about the dangerous link between substance misuse and su***de risk.
That message aligns with IACH’s role in promoting healthy coping, intervention and help-seeking across the Fort Riley community.
The race offered a way for hospital leaders to support an installation-wide message while also stepping away from the clinical environment to build stronger relationships.
“This gave them a break,” LTC Gaddy said. “It let us have a little fun together, team build together. Sometimes we’re so busy, we don’t get to work with each other and see each other as much during the day, so this gave us an opportunity to come out and do something together.”
On the water, not every design performed the same. LTC Gaddy said one team built more of a canoe-style vessel, while the other created a box-shaped boat with a wider base. The narrower canoe design proved unstable.
“We floated for about two strokes,” LTC Gaddy said with a laugh. “Once we started to get off balance, we tipped and we weren’t able to recover.”
Even so, she said the experience was a success because it showed how teammates worked through ideas together in a different setting than the hospital.
While cardboard boats on Moon Lake provided a show of solidarity, IACH leaders emphasized that real-world support for substance use and emotional distress is available every single day inside the hospital.
IACH’s Substance Use Disorder Clinical Care (SUDCC) program provides comprehensive, compassionate, and confidential outpatient care for Soldiers who are navigating substance or alcohol challenges.
“Recovery looks different for every person, which is why our SUDCC team focuses on understanding each service member’s unique needs, goals, and circumstances,” said CPT Eden A. Kebede, Interim Clinical Director for SUDCC. “We work collaboratively with Soldiers to reduce harmful patterns, build healthier coping skills, and support lasting changes that strengthen both their well-being and military readiness. Reaching out early can make a meaningful difference, and our team is ready to help.”
Whether a Soldier is dealing with the weight of operational stress or struggling with alcohol misuse, IACH offers structured individual therapy, group counseling, and integrated behavioral health support designed to restore wellness and keep the formation strong.
Soldiers seeking confidential self-referral or looking for more information about the SUDCC program can schedule an appointment directly by calling 888-239-DOCS.
Fort Riley | 1st Infantry Division
