TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A group of 35 Key Spouses and Key Spouse Mentors at Travis Air Force Base, California, were among the first spouses to receive initial Green Dot training May 24.
The spouses were trained during their quarterly Key Spouse training session, which also included updates from wing leadership and a presentation on crisis communication and social media response.
Green Dot training is the first step in the Air Force’s five-year strategy to decrease interpersonal violence across the service. The Air Force contracted the non-profit Green Dot organization to provide violence prevention tools to the total Air Force over three years.
Though Airmen and civilians are required to attend the training, opening it up to spouses and family members is a new concept.
“Key Spouses have a unique vantage point both within the community and the units they assist,” said Autumn Lombardi, 60th Force Support Squadron community relations specialist and Key Spouse program manager. “This training will enhance their ability to share and promote the Green Dot way.”
According to the “Living the Green Dot” website, Green Dot is built on the premise that individuals can measurably and systematically reduce violence within any given community. The program aims to empower each and every trainee to have the power to improve or eliminate a potentially violent situation using simple symbols: green dots symbolize positive actions and red dots symbolize negative actions.
The organization molds itself around a quote by Robert F. Kennedy, “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”
Throughout the hour-and-a-half program, spouses engaged in interactive discussion, brainstorming in small groups and learning various techniques to help reduce a red dot situation.
“I think the training is great because you’re engaged,” said Vanessa Pearson, spouse. “This gave us tools to use and scenarios that were plausible.”
After the training, spouses were invited to join the Travis Green Dot team by helping facilitate sessions or even become an instructor. Many were interested in applying.
The Green Dot training was fantastic,” said Danielle Garcia, spouse. “The role playing and critical thinking activities coached to us will make it easier to approach a situation in the future. Since the Green Dot Program was created by evidence-based research, we can feel confident knowing that we are aware of best practices.”
Because of the interactive nature of the training, as opposed to a traditional informational presentation, spouses said many key lessons would stick with them, including the 3D technique to helping an at-risk individual – direct, delegate and distract – and the ACE acronym: Ask, care, escort.
“My absolute favorite statement from Green Dot was referring to the slow, collective cultural shift,” said Garcia. “This is a technique that applies to many situations, as we are all on this planet together. In the situations of interpersonal violence prevention, creating a cultural shift to make our military family feel safe and approachable in times of duress strikes me as the priority to overcoming the weaknesses we have.”
“We have all read the paraphrase, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world,’” she said. “This training passed on skills and knowledge so that bystanders have the tools to create a safe environment and aid in prevention.”