Sheppard Airmen gather to fight sexual assault

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mike Meares
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

These words rang in the halls of the Second Continental Congress July, 4, 1776, just as they did on the streets of Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, June 21, 2013, as more than 8,000 Airmen, from airman basic to brigadier general and civilians, signed a commitment to eradicate sexual assault at all levels during Operation REAL.

"A human being has an innate right to be valued and receive ethical treatment," said Brig. Gen. Michael Fantini, 82nd Training Wing commander. "It's an extension of the enlightenment where someone is known to have inherent inalienable rights. We all have the right to be treated with dignity and respect."

Operation REAL, which stands for respect, equality, accountability and leadership, is a stand down to educate the populace in response to Air Education and Training Command's directive to focus on dignity, trust and respect toward fellow Airmen. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel directed all branches at all levels to mitigate an ongoing trend of sexual misconduct across the Department of Defense through "purposeful and direct engagement by commanders."

"Today is a challenging environment," Fantini said. "We absolutely need to acknowledge that we have a problem with this and can't continue to rationalize the issue with statistics because statistics are wildly inaccurate."

At Sheppard, the stand down started as the morning sun started peaking over the tops of buildings with stations spread out across the base. Leaders want every member of the armed forces to understand they are accountable for fostering a climate where sexist behaviors, sexual harassment and sexual assault are not tolerated, condoned or ignored.

"We're not turning a wheel. We're not turning a wrench, and we're not doing any international training, except we're doing education to create a better environment within our community at Sheppard Air Force Base, with an emphasis on sexual assault," Fantini said. "It's about dignity, it's about respect, it's about equality, and it's about accountability and leadership."

According to Sheppard leaders, the stand down is also an education about leadership on the front lines of a societal problem. As long as this is an issue, they vow to continue their war on changing the culture.

"This is not just a one-time deal," said Lt. Col. Andrea Themely, 89th Flying Training Squadron commander. "This needs to be a continual process. We're focusing on it today because we want to stand down and take the opportunity to say that 'we want every Airman to recognize this now.' Airmen (need to) know their leadership is on their side, that they can come forward and report something and it will get handled correctly."

Each station supported a message of respect, equality, accountability, leadership, wingman, dignity and integrity. Like the layers of an onion, each one was peeled back to reveal a quality Airmen should foster on a daily basis.

"They're all interrelated," said Col. William Peterson, 82nd Mission Support Group commander, who spent his time at the equality station. "You can't say one is more important that the other. As you start peeling them away, they build upon each other."

At the respect location, the 82nd Medical Group brought the infamous words of Aretha Franklin to life with a song and dance, with a twist. Though the words were tailored to reflect respect in the Air Force, the message was unchanged.

"Respect means the golden rule, to treat others as you wish to be respected," said Tech. Sgt. Ana Cruz, 82nd Medical Group technician. "You cannot have integrity, you cannot have service before self or excellence if you don't respect others, or you don't respect yourself."

Making the quarter-mile walk between stations, Airmen across the 82nd TRW and the 80th Flying Training Wing were greeted at each station with a different message. For some of the foreign officers from the 80th FTW's Euro NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, dealing with societal issues among the ranks isn't a new problem, but it's a problem none the less.

"I cannot say there is not a problem with this in the German air force, we have the same issues everywhere," said German air force Lt. Pat Pahlke "I think it's a really good idea to address everybody to let them know we have to work as a team, whether it's NATO or just Air Force, together we can work on that problem."

To combat this at the lowest levels, in October of last year the 2nd Air Force instituted the teal rope program in technical training schools at Kessler Air Force Base, Miss. Airmen in training had an outlet to address sexual assault issues. These selected Airmen receive special training by the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to serve as ambassadors of sexual assault awareness and prevention. They act as a conduit of information for referral services and program contacts. The first teal ropes where pinned on at Sheppard in April as a supplement to the Students Against Sexual Assault and Harassment program.

"I'm kind of a go-to person if someone feels they have been sexually assaulted or harassed," said Airman Basic D'Ana West, 366th Training Squadron electrical systems technician student. "It's important to me because I've been in a situation where I've been sexually harassed. It wasn't extreme, but I have heard stories of friends who've had extreme cases. It's not right, so I want others to feel comfortable and confident around others."

Since an all-volunteer force is made up of members of the society, sexual assault is more than an Air Force issue. The banners they all signed at each of the seven stations represent a commitment to make a cultural change, a war against a societal foe.