SARC helps promote awareness, provide support

  • Published
  • By Mike Wallace
  • Wright-Patterson AFB Skywrighter staff
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE --  Simone Koram, the base coordinator for sexual assault response and wingman activities, is partnering with base organizations in an effort to more fully explain her organizational missions and goals. 

To that end, she conducted a meeting July 26 with representatives from the Base Enlisted Advisory Council, the Company Grade Officers Council and the Junior Force Council. 

The purpose of the initial meeting was to get acquainted and to begin to plan how to better tell people about sexual assault prevention and response and wingman program. 

Staff Sgt. Mike Feggans, a BEAC member since 2002, and Senior Airman Kamau Nembhard, BEAC vice president, said they had the capability to go to individual rooms in the enlisted dormitories to talk face-to-face to residents. 

"We want to talk to Airmen as soon as they get to this base," Sgt. Feggans said. "We get so much training in groups as part of our jobs, but meeting and talking to our peers will make more of an impression. A lot of our representatives are E-4s and below. We can touch all E-6s and below." 

"The dorms are only so big, and incidents affect the residents," said Airman Nembhard. "The best way for us to inform people about the SARC is to go door-to-door.
"I can tell how passionate Simone is about these programs, and there's no reason why we can't talk to people." 

Jennifer Hart, JFC president, said "the preventive portion is the most exciting part." 

"We'll brief it and hold workshops where we can have skits that people can see," she said. "The starting point for us here is educating people about SARC. The JFC is Air Force Materiel Command-wide, and its mission is to build Air Force leaders through being mentors and speaker series presentations. 

"Our organization includes E-5s and below, O-3s and below and GS-5s and below, so we include people from across the board. We interface very well, and we offer career advice. And we're unique because we can go straight to senior leadership, to Gen. (Bruce) Carlson (AFMC commander). 

"Whenever the SARC (Ms. Koram) briefed at a staff meeting, she opened the eyes of a lot of people," said Capt. Gary Charland, JFC vice president. "Getting out the word is based on knowing someone and bringing people together. If someone asks, 'This happened last night, so what do we do?' We can tell people to call the SARC. One of our missions is to prevent sexual assaults. 

'We're not here to learn about it; we're here to improve upon it." 

Second Lt. Leah Swanson, president of CGOC, said that she'd heard about sexual assault response prevention, "but it's the last thing anyone thinks about," she said. 

"Our job is to make sure people get the word," Lt. Swanson said. "It's a little more difficult for us. There are more than 1,800 CGOs on base and they're spread out. Gathering them together is very difficult, so we must rely on senior leadership to help. 

"Hopefully, we can provide a wingman mentality. After all, the two are related. It's Airmen taking care of Airmen. That's what we're doing here." 

Ms. Koram agreed, saying "Partnerships are very important. One rape is too many. One suicide is too many. I may not be able to talk to everyone individually on this installation, but with the support and proactiveness of my partners, anything is possible. I am confident that this team of caring leaders will do whatever it takes to get the job done, and I am grateful for their immediate response to my call for help. 

"We will join hands as we take the next step to encourage continued dialogue, discussion and awareness of the SARC and Wingman programs basewide. 

"We will 'talk it up' until we get every wingman's attention. We welcome those interested in helping us with our mission. 

"I am here to help with questions and answers. I have the resources to help. Our goal and our mission is to reach out and touch everyone on this base. We don't turn down anybody needing our help. Put your hearts into it and you can't go wrong."