JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- A new class is in session for military members across the Air Force. Founded in 2016, Green Dot, a new program, aims at preventing power-based personal violence by arming Airmen with the knowledge and tools to dismantle dangerous situations at the lowest level possible.
Green Dot is a comprehensive approach that capitalizes on the power of peer influence across individual, relational, installation and community levels. The training develops implementers and peer influencers who will step in when they notice something could go wrong instead of after it happens. The goal is to change from reactive bystander intervention to proactive bystander intervention.
“We focus on prevention, we don’t want anyone to get hurt here,” said Janis Doss, 87th Air Base Wing violence prevention integrator. “We work with different agencies like Equal Opportunity, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and Family Advocacy. We all work together to get the word out.”
Joint Base MDL currently has 40 Green Dot implementers, teachers who give the training to the base populace and peer influencers, ones nominated by their leadership to help raise awareness to their respective units.
“I would like to have as many (implementers) as it takes to be successful,” said Doss. “That means keeping my implementers enthusiastic and refreshed to get that message out, that message that is so important, and it is coming from those implementers.”
While Green Dot is still in the early phases of implementation, Air Force leaders hope to eliminate “red dots” or negative situations force wide – giving Airmen and their families a safe environment to accomplish the mission.
“The Violence Prevention Program is there for the safety of the community,” added Doss. “Everyone has a responsibility to protect everyone on this installation. They don’t have to do everything, but everyone can do something.”