New Sexual Assault Response Coordinator ready to help

  • Published
  • By Patrick Ary
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  It's not a prevalent problem at Arnold Engineering Development Center, but when it happens it can resonate throughout a unit and beyond, hindering readiness by the trauma it causes the victim, and the degrading nature it renders to the team. The entire life, in and out of work, is affected for the victim. The current Sexual Assault Response Program motto says it all. It "Hurts one. Hurts all." It even affects bystanders.

Now, AEDC has a new person entrusted with handling those cases, should they occur.

After receiving training in September, Sue Sipe took on the duties as a sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) in October. Sipe is a secretary in AEDC's contracting office and took on the extra duties after seeing a posting for the job.

"I believe I was put on Earth to serve others by saying or doing something that adds some kind of light to their life," Sipe said. "Helping a vulnerable person in a time when they have lost all trust to trust again is important."

The population at AEDC is very different from that at a training base, Sipe said. Because there are fewer young people here in the age range where more sexual assaults typically occur, there is not a full-time SARC. Sipe serves in that role and as an advocate for victims. Once paperwork on a case is complete, it is forwarded on to the official SARC at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Now that she's on the job, Sipe wants to make sure Airmen and Air Force civilians know what's available for them.

"Expect to see some changes to the program at AEDC in the near future," Sipe said. "All new DoD employees will now be briefed on the sexual assault prevention and response program at AEDC as part of in-processing. They will be given cards at that time with emergency information should a need arise. There is also a quick response pack being prepared for supervisors. Expect to see more information and prevention tips in various media outlets throughout the base in coming months."

Because the population at AEDC is typically older, married and more grounded, Sipe said many people may not be as familiar with the sexual assault response resources.

"When you think about the demographics at Arnold, we have a lot of people who may not be in that 18-28 age group most likely to be assaulted," Sipe said. "But we have a lot who have kids in that age group. Working together, we can give them some tools to be more prepared to recognize potential high risk situations."

DoD dependents over age 18 are covered under the SARC program, according to Sipe.

Airmen and Air Force civilians who need help can call the Arnold Sexual Assault Hot Line's 24-hour number at (931) 581-7494. Sipe is on-call 24 hours a day to help when someone needs it. She invites those with a need or simply a confidential inquiry to contact her. Calls are confidential.

"Being the victim of a crime such as a sexual assault can be devastating," Sipe said. "Sharing your story to someone can be extremely difficult, as the victim may feel they are re-living the occurrence again and again. It is a necessary component to overcome this type of trauma."

Sipe says her role is to advocate for the victim and help them navigate through a difficult time by providing emotional support and education, accompanying the survivor to appointments if they desire, performing crisis intervention and collaborating with other helping agencies on the victim's behalf. The advocate can also provide accurate information on medical, investigative and legal services for a victim.

"Since the advocate is functioning in a special role, it is a position of trust and confidence like that of a chaplain or health service," Sipe said. "Sometimes it is just being there for the victim."

There are two different ways to report a sexual assault, Sipe said. Military and civilians are able to file unrestricted reports if desired, which result in an OSI and command section investigation.

Restricted reports are available only to active-duty military and do not result in an investigation. These reports are kept in confidence to the SARC. At any time, a victim can change a restricted report to unrestricted in order to initiate an investigation.

During the reporting process, the victim advocate is there to clarify the options and provide answers to any questions the victim may have prior to deciding what he or she may want to do, Sipe said.

Now that Sipe has assumed her new duties, she is working to get the word out about the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program at AEDC. She plans to visit local health care agencies and base agencies who may be the first point of contact in a sexual assault case.

"I believe it is important to develop good personal rapport with the members of the various helping agencies we will relate with given we had an active case," Sipe said.

Sipe also hopes to have a military member trained soon. The Air Force prefers to have part of the advocacy team represented by one of their active duty members in order to help airmen who may prefer talking to someone in uniform about their experience. Sipe says she will do whatever is needed to help people recover from a traumatic experience in their lives.

"I firmly believe that no matter what trials you go through in life," Sipe said, "with quality assistance and the right outlook, and time ... you're going to get through it without smelling like the fire you've been through."