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Anchorage, Alaska. (January 11, 2025): To little kids, an Air Force member in a crisp uniform is the perfect role model, especially when it comes to resisting the lure of drugs and alcohol. In this photo by Alejandro Peña, Sergeant Latavia Despojo with the 176th Security Forces Squadron teaches a Klatt Elementary School student to use her radio during Red Ribbon Week. The nation's largest and longest-running drug awareness and prevention program, Red Ribbon Week promotes a healthy and drug-free lifestyle among the nation's youth.

The tradition has dark roots, however. Red Ribbon Week began after the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena and his pilot Captain Alfredo Zavala-Avelar in 1985. Camarena had been working undercover in Guadalajara, Mexico for over four years before his kidnapping and slaying by drug traffickers. Camarena was targeted after he exposed a multimillion-dollar marijuana manufacturing operation.