ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- To coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office at Arnold Air Force Base has a spate of events planned throughout the month of April to help further promote prevention and survivor support.
The SAPR office will hold a monthlong event called the “Virtual Teal Relay Ribbon Race.” Arnold personnel taking part are asked to walk or run 30 miles in 30 days. Those completing the challenge will earn a prize from the SAPR office at the end of April.
Just days before the start of the nationally recognized SAAPM, Arnold Engineering Development Complex Commander Col. Grant Mizell on March 28 signed a proclamation recognizing April as SAAPM across the complex.
Department of Defense civilian and military communities across the U.S. have for a number of years recognized SAAPM each April.
“Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month is a call to action for the entire Arnold family,” said Nicole Berger, sexual assault victim advocate in the Arnold AFB SAPR office. “This April, we recommit to understanding the devastating impact of sexual assault on victims and acknowledge that ending sexual violence is a shared responsibility. Let’s commit to learning about the available resources and actively working to prevent future violence. By upholding our agency values of respect, promoting a culture of consent and taking personal responsibility, we can create a safer community, ensuring everyone at Arnold is treated with dignity.”
Each Tuesday throughout the month of April is considered “Teal Tuesday,” and base personnel are encouraged to show their support for survivors of sexual assault by wearing teal, the recognized color for sexual assault awareness and prevention.
The SAPR office will also place teal ribbons to honor survivors and painted rocks around the base. According to the SAPR office, team members can pick and keep these rocks, which will have painted upon them words of affirmation and encouragement that can be used in “mindfulness, relaxation and grounding” activities.
The SAPR team will be joined by AEDC leadership at the complex’s Arnold AFB headquarters on the morning of April 3 to take part in a “gate wave” from 6:30-7:30 a.m. During this time, SAPR office personnel and complex leaders will greet fellow Arnold team members as they arrive at the Main Gate to begin their work shifts.
Several “Teal Talks” will also be held throughout the month, beginning with the showing of a documentary on April 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room A125 of Building 100. The 2012 film focuses on sexual assault in the U.S. military.
The documentary and discussion can also be viewed on Microsoft Teams at: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_5013e8f0dd774f6e928fa1feca82e280%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228331b18d-2d87-48ef-a35f-ac8818ebf9b4%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bcce998e-c04d-4e59-a253-94688faaac53%22%7d.
Other Teal Talks will include speakers presenting different topics. The first of these speaker-led Teal Talks will occur on April 9 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The topic “What Happens Next – SAFE & OSI discussions” will be presented by forensic nurse Kathy Watts and Jennifer Peterson with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Arnold AFB.
The next will take place on April 17 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The topic, “How to Talk to and Support a Sexual Assault Survivor” will be presented by Kellye Gilbert, executive director of Haven for Hope Inc.
The Teal Talk topic for the April 24 session will be “Male Victimization.”
These Teal Talk sessions will also take place in Room A125 of Building 100. Each can also be viewed via Microsoft Teams on the day and time of the event using the following links:
- “What Happens Next”: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_700ec2a6b403414eb62df003f2b4f79b%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228331b18d-2d87-48ef-a35f-ac8818ebf9b4%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bcce998e-c04d-4e59-a253-94688faaac53%22%7d.
- “How to Talk to and Support a Sexual Assault Survivor”: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_632bfed954044941b18dec4977ae4b6c%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228331b18d-2d87-48ef-a35f-ac8818ebf9b4%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bcce998e-c04d-4e59-a253-94688faaac53%22%7d.
- “Male Victimization”: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_325837d686724fb0a20ae0766b3c4366%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228331b18d-2d87-48ef-a35f-ac8818ebf9b4%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22bcce998e-c04d-4e59-a253-94688faaac53%22%7d.
There will be various tabling events around Arnold throughout the month. During the week of April 7, the SAPR office will have an art and poetry table set up in Hap’s Eatery in Building 100. On April 8, Berger and Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Gary Johnson from the Arnold AFB SAPR office will be available at the table on 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
That same week, the office will set up its “What Were They Wearing?” display in Building 1103. This display features 10 mannequins, each with a different narrative and adorned with recreations of the clothing sexual assault victims were wearing at the time of their assault. The display aims, in part, to quash the belief that a sexual assault survivor could have prevented his or her assault had they worn something less revealing.
A table will also be set up that week in front of the SAPR office, located in Room B109 of Building 100, for those interested in learning more about the office and seeking more information on sexual assault prevention.
On April 23, the “SAPR Amazing Race” will take place beginning at 1 p.m. Arnold team members will form teams of two and run around the base, uncovering SAPR-related clues that will lead them to their next destination.
The race will begin in Room B109 of Building 100, and the winning team will receive a prize. Those interested in participating are asked to RSVP by April 18 by contacting the Arnold AFB SAPR office at 931-454-7272.
This year, National Denim Day will take place on April 30. National Denim Day is an annual campaign in which people are encouraged to wear denim to protest victim blaming and other misconceptions surrounding sexual assault and to further support sexual assault prevention and survivors.
Team members at Arnold are invited to join in by wearing denim to show their support.
For more information on the Arnold AFB SAAPM events, contact the base SAPR office at the number provided above.