JB MDL hosts new SAPR trainer workshop Published Sept. 10, 2010 By Airman 1st Class Dennis L. Sloan 87th ABW/PA Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. -- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office hosted the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Bystander Intervention Train-the-Trainer Workshop at Tommy B's Community Activities Center Aug. 24-26. During the workshop, 60 Air Force enlisted, officers and civilians from several different Air Force bases around the country learned how to teach Airmen to recognize behaviors requiring early intervention to prevent and eliminate sexual assault while encouraging a [Culture of Responsible Choices]. The overall focus of this three-day workshop is to provide each base with a subject matter expert on the newly-integrated annual Air Force Bystander Intervention Training. After the workshop, trainers are Air Force-certified to carry out this training at their bases. "The overall goal of this workshop is to train Air Force enlisted, officers and civilians from several different bases on bystander intervention strategies," said Lt. Col. Craig McCuin, Air Force, SAPR deputy program manager. "The strategies themselves will help Airmen to eliminate and prevent sexual harassment and assault in the Air Force, further enhancing personnel mission readiness." The workshop was taught by subject matter experts with many years of experience working in civilian communities, the Defense Department and the Air Force since the SAPR policy inception in June 2005. This training is important because attendees will be passing what knowledge they've learned on to their Airmen and civilian personnel with a ripple effect, encouraging responsible choices in doing what is right in our joint base community, said Brock. "A lot of men and women are volunteering to help with this new training to support the wingman [Culture of Responsible Choices] concept," said McCuin. "They want to eliminate sexual assault from their Air Force." The BIT is a 90-minute course teaches sexual assault awareness, early intervention techniques and safety while intervening with a possible sexual assault situation. It will be mandatory for all servicemembers and civilian supervisors of military members. The new program will be taught throughout the year to all servicemembers and civilians working with military members with an Air Force completion date of June 30, 2012. "We want to teach our total force to recognize early signs of sexual harassment and sexual assault," said Laure Brock, JB MDL Air Force installation sexual assault response coordinator. "If we can teach the total force these signs then we can prevent situations before they ever escalate to an actual sexual assault allegation or other behaviors contrary to our military culture." Servicemembers should not wait until June 2012 to get this training, said Brock. "The sooner our total force has everyone on the same page with handling sexual assault prevention, the sooner we can be an Air Force free of sexual violence." For more information or to register for BIT, contact the Air Force installation SARC at (609) 203-6134 or your unit training monitor.