IDS paints the base green through the Violence Prevention Office

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ashley Clingerman
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

WRIGHT-PATERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – As the first sprouts of spring tease us with the hopes of warmer weather, Wright-Patterson’s Integrated Delivery System agencies are ready to kick off the season by bringing some more green to the base, with the Violence Prevention Office at the forefront.

This March marks the rollout for 2018 Green Dot which covers SAPR and Suicide Prevention training and awareness, programs aimed to reduce incidents of self-directed and power based personal violence.

“We are prevention focused, so giving examples to everyone in what they can do and use in their day to day lives takes it a step further,” said Vera Bowie, Violence Prevention Integrator. “That’s part of changing the Air Force culture in a positive way, because we can agree that we all want a safe environment. Our common goal is that we all want to help and support the mission, and we do that by having the most effective and best Airmen that we can - and we do have that here on base - and we want to support them,” she said.

So to encourage and support this year, the office will start off in the units with Green Dot training and then liven things up with the Second Annual Green Dot Spring Fling.

Unit Green Dot training, just like last year, is unit led. Each unit or organization has a Green Dot Lead Coordinator that works with the Unit Training Manager or Training Focal Point to schedule trainings and can assist with registration.

There will also be a few open classes available on both Area A and Area B, but are only to support base organizations that don’t have enough personnel to support a full class and small tenants on base. These training sessions will have a limited seating and attendees will have to sign up through myETMS online. For class locations and availability, contact your unit’s Lead Coordinator, UTM, TFP, or the VPI.

“The big takeaway from this year’s training is the value of your small behaviors,” Vera shared while talking about the upcoming Green Dot training. “There’s a lot of people doing small behaviors, and understanding the importance of those small behaviors can lead to a big impact. That will lead to having a safe environment for all Airmen on base. We want to create a community people feel like they can be a part of and that violence of any kind is not tolerated here.”

The second annual Green Dot Spring Fling will take place on base March 12 – 23. It’s a base-wide egg hunt with Green Dot prizes including (but not limited to) t-shirts, stress balls, ice-packs, and for a lucky few one of the coveted Green Dot car magnets. Little green eggs will be hidden all over base with a golden ticket inside that has contact information for the point of contact for that area.

 “If you find an egg, don’t keep it at your desk, call that contact!” said Vera while going over this year’s egg hunt. “Last year we had one focal point and it was sometimes too hard for people to travel, so we’re trying to make it easier to turn it in and collect the Green Dot prize. Someone can go in and say ‘Hey, I got a Green Dot story,’ or ‘I know what a Green Dot is,’ or they don’t know and we tell you what it means.”

Vera and the lead coordinators plan on hiding around 200 eggs this year across both Area A and Area B.

“If you’re over from AFIT and you find a contact for AFRL, go ahead and call. It doesn’t matter; don’t say ‘Well I’m not from this section so I can’t pick that up,’ you can still claim a prize.”

But whether it’s through spreading the Green Dot message with eggs or getting awareness training to the base, Vera wants to help everyone know what they can do to support their fellow co-workers.

“If a new Airman, Airman with a capital A – meaning military, civilian, contractor- is new to your area, what are you doing to make them feel included? What are you doing to make them feel a part of the mission? We are all part of a greater mission, here to support our Air Force. Here on our base, we look out for one another. By doing these small behaviors, we can have a big impact and bring violence down or make it less likely to occur.”

For more information you can contact the Wright-Patterson Violence Prevention Office at 937-257-8338 or email at vera.bowie@us.af.mil.