“We are prevention focused. 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.”
To provide support this year, the office will start off in the units with Green Dot training, then liven things up with the second annual Green Dot Spring Fling.
Unit Green Dot training, as was done last year, is unit led. Each unit or organization has a Green Dot lead coordinator who works with the unit training manager or training focal point to schedule trainings and assist with registration.
There will also be a few open classes available on both Area A and Area B, but these 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 violence prevention integrator.
“The big takeaway from this year’s training is the value of your small behaviors,” Bowie said. “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 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 Bowie. “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.”
Bowie 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 (Air Force Institute of Technology) and you find a contact for AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory), 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, Bowie 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,” Bowie said.
For more information, contact the Wright-Patterson Violence Prevention Office at 937-257-8338 or email at vera.bowie@us.af.mil.
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