Green Dot to roll out across Hanscom, Air Force

  • Published
  • By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
Airmen will take the first step of a five-year strategy to decrease interpersonal violence across the service this month when 1,500 Airman implementers, including more than 15 from Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., attend one of 22 Green Dot prep sessions worldwide.

Green Dot prepares organizations to implement a strategy of violence prevention that reduces power-based interpersonal violence, which includes not only sexual violence, but also domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, child abuse, elder abuse and bullying.

"Prevention is an essential component to the new Air Force strategy that aims to provide Airmen the tools to recognize and stop violence before it occurs," said Dawn Shewmaker, interim Hanscom prevention specialist.

Air Force senior leaders signed a foreword to the strategy charging all Airmen with the responsibility of preventing sexual assault in October.

"As a service, our number one priority has and will continue to be response. However, in order to stop violence before it occurs we must dedicate time to prevention," said Chief Master Sgt. Melanie Noel, the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response senior enlisted advisor. "Helping our Airmen understand what they can do to prevent violence and how they can do it is the first step."

The Air Force contracted the non-profit Green Dot organization to provide these violence prevention sessions to the total Air Force over the next three years.

"Green Dot is the Air Force's first step in arming Airmen for violence prevention using an evidence-based public health model," said Dr. Andra Tharp, the Air Force's highly qualified prevention expert. "Although that sounds complicated, really what it means is that we know Airmen are a vital part of the solution and we will use methods like this that have been subjected to rigorous scientific testing and were proven to be effective in reducing violence."

Reflective of Green Dot's wider scope, local Airmen attending the Green Dot training will conduct 50-minute long sessions at Hanscom Air Force Base beginning this spring. Installation leadership will also have oversight of Green Dot through the Community Action Information Board and Integrated Delivery System, and track completion through the Advanced Distributed Learning System.

"It's on all of us to take responsibility to prevent interpersonal violence in our Air Force," said Air Force CAIB chair Brig. Gen. Lenny Richoux. "There are more good Airmen out there who want to take care of their wingman than there are predators seeking to inflict acts of violence inside our family, and I have confidence our Airmen won't let me or each other stand-alone against this criminal behavior."

The 1,500 Airman implementers will complete training by March 2016. They will return to their units to train peer leader Airmen at each base followed by training for all Airmen.

"This is an important step in arming all Airmen with the skills and tools needed to take care of our wingmen," said Lt. Col. David R. Dunklee, 66th Air Base Group commander. "Focused leadership working together at every level is the only way we can succeed in preventing violence."

(Editor's Note: The 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs Office contributed to this story.)