Airmen group confronts sexual assault within Air Force

  • Published
  • By Brian Brackens
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Leading a new charge to confront serious issues facing military members throughout the Air Force is a group of energetic and motivated young Airmen with the Air Force Junior Support (AFJS), an organization recently formed here.

AFJS was founded by a group of enlisted Airmen to address important issues such as substance use and abuse, suicide, depression and sexual assault, in a more interesting and compelling way.

Due to the nearly 800 reports of sexual assaults that occurred throughout the Air Force in the past year, the group has primarily focused on finding new ways to communicate and raise awareness of this issue among the junior enlisted force.

AFJS Co-President Senior Airmen Jhosselin Alonzo, an aerospace medical technician with the 88th Air Base Wing Medical Operations Squadron, said that traditional methods of sharing information and raising awareness, such as PowerPoint briefings and lectures isn't the best way to capture and maintain her peer group's attention.

"My generation is different," said Airman Alonzo. "We have the attention span of only eight minutes at a time, which is about the time a TV show runs before commercial breaks. If you don't get our attention right away, we will stop listening."

Capturing the attention of junior enlisted members is what led the group to partner with student actors from a local community college to produce and perform a play that addressed sexual assault.

Not only did the play showcase the talent and skills of Airmen who performed in front of their peers as actors, but it presented a serious topic in a manner that educated and entertained.

"During the play, our Airmen were totally interested and engaged in the information being shared, and they got the message," Airman Alonzo said. "You are never going to get that level of attention during a PowerPoint presentation."

Senior Airman Ricky Ware, a broadcast journalist with the 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs office and co-president of AFJS, said that analyzing appropriate communication tools and applying them are keys to delivering effective messages to the junior enlisted force.

"We use a lot of social media and informal networking to get out information," Airman Ware said. "We also have really great events with hard-hitting, straight to the point, amazing messages that are very clearly delivered to every single person in attendance."

Airman Ware said that one of the keys to preventing sexual assaults is to talk about it more.

"It's still taboo to talk about sexual assault. It's still awkward, and that's what our group is trying to break down. The more we talk about it, the more we get it out there, the more conversational we can make it, and the less it will happen."

Airman Alonzo said she hopes that AFJS ideas and programs will spread with the establishment of similar junior force groups.

"The message I would give to others trying to start a group like ours is to show love, it's as simple as that," she said. "If you're sitting next to an Airman that you've never spoken to, turn around and say hello. You don't want people around you suffering; we have to take care of each other."