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New mandatory training asks Airmen ‘would you intervene?’

  • Published
  • By Crystal Jordan
  • Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Air Force Global Strike Command recently implemented a new type of mandatory sexual assault prevention training.

Bystander Intervention Training is a face-to-face, 90-minute class of no more than 25 individuals which educates Airmen on practical tools they can employ to personally prevent sexual assault.

"I am not here to give Airmen the answers to the training questions, or to force them into intervening in dangerous situations," said Capt. Dallas Webb, the sexual assault response coordinator and Bystander Intervention Training facilitator at Barksdale. "I'm here to cause them to look inside themselves and ask: would I intervene?"

According to Ms. Vicki Shepherd, Air Force Global Strike Command sexual assault response coordinator, this training is not a computer-based module--it's different.

A training facilitator leads Airmen through hypothetical exercises which cause them to look within and determine when and if they would act.

The real-world scenarios and behavioral situations fuel a "discussion-driven" session for the attendees, Ms. Shepherd said. Airmen are asked to mentally put themselves into a "bystander's shoes" to determine what they would do in these situations.

Airmen then have the opportunity to explore reactions and methods of intervention they employ in a non-threatening manner, she said.

"In a real world situation, Airmen are forced to react in a split-second, and most times, choose not to because they don't know what to do," Captain Webb said. Thinking about how you might react in advance can help a person to make more effective decisions, she said.

Air Force Global Strike Command officials expect to have all military personnel trained by the summer of 2012.

"Educating our Airmen and personnel is just the beginning," said Ms. Shepherd. "It is our job to build a culture that is intolerant of sexual assault."

The training is one program being implemented following a letter to Airmen from Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Roy regarding sexual assault prevention and response March 23.