Green Dot Team in Action

Published Dec. 2, 2015
By Senior Airman Sergio A. Gamboa
325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASAE, Fla. -- Leaders from Tyndall were recently introduce to the new Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention Strategy called Green Dot. The strategy will aid Team Tyndall in preventing sexual assault.

"We cannot tolerate sexual assaults in our Air Force, period," said Col. Joseph Kunkel, 325th Fighter Wing vice commander. "This initiative is another step in preventing such occurrences and provides Airmen and families another tool to make sure it doesn't happen within our spheres of influence. The key difference between Green Dot and previous efforts is the focus on prevention versus response. Ultimately, we want an Air Force free of sexual assault. Tyndall leaders and our Green Dot facilitators are passionate about making that a reality."

Green Dot is a national organization that teaches bystander-intervention training and is a comprehensive approach to sexual and domestic violence prevention that capitalizes on the power of peer influence.

"The Green Dot training is part of the new Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention strategy which seeks to bring about sustainable prevention in order to realize an Air Force free from sexual assault," said Corey Coleman, 325th Fighter Wing community support coordinator. "Team Tyndall members were selected to attend Green Dot training and bring this valuable information back to Tyndall. Now, they will be teaching the training to the entire base in 2016."

According to the Green Dot website, the main training focus is to build Airmen's capacity as instructors within each of the following four components of the Green Dot Model of Influence: relationships, connection, knowledge and skills.

Relationships:

Authentic, positive interpersonal relationships are key to an effective prevention program. In order to equip participants to engage fully and build effective relationships in their role as Green Dot instructors they are asked to:

· Show up fully.
· Leave formalities of titles, credentials and job description at the office and participate in the training as human beings.
· Engage in discussion within small group formats throughout the training and examine potential historical obstacles of this movement, obstacles imbedded within their organizations, and obstacles impacting them as individuals. This process is vital to enhance skills in establishing maximally effective relationships.

Connection:

Research suggests that people are most likely to engage in this issue if they feel a personal level of connection and responsibility. Therefore, in order to most effectively implement a prevention program, instructors need to be acutely aware of the stakes and urgency of this issue. At the same time, connection to hope is essential to propel cultural change and to create a safe space for individuals to embark on a new set of behaviors.

In order to effectively foster connections among their participants, instructors are given the opportunity to explore their own connections through journaling, reflection and small group discussion.

Knowledge:

The Green Dot curriculum is based on research, data and theory pulled from across disciplines. Instructors will not only be trained on the current research across relevant fields of study but they will also be challenged to examine research within our own field and to apply the knowledge to improve upon methodologies. Instructors will also be trained on the curriculum they will present to their participants.

Skills:

Green Dot adheres to the simple notion that "it doesn't matter what you are saying if no one is listening." Effective delivery of content is an often overlooked component of our education and prevention efforts. Regardless of the strength of the content, the delivery will play a significant role in determining the degree of effectiveness of a given program. As such, over the course of the four-day training, instructors will engage in a progressive skill building exercise focused on persuasive communication skills.

With these steps, Tyndall can be more hands-on with sexual assault prevention.