The Value of Leadership in Implementing and Maintaining a Successful Health Promotion Program in the Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

A health promotion program called the "Green H Award" was implemented in 1996 for the SURFPAC commands, which represented 35,000 Navy and Marine personnel serving in the Naval Surface Force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, in an effort to reduce rates of smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity, and poor fitness. Commands which had leadership involvement in their health promotion effort had higher levels of implementation, success, and maintenance. Measures of all these health risks improved substantially between 1996 and 1999; however, the response rates for the measures was highly variable.