Photo By Tech. Sgt. Noah Tancer | U.S. Air Force Capt. Maria Castle, the sexual assault prevention and response...... read more read more
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Team Phoenix is a peer-to-peer mentorship program, unique to USCENTCOM’s area of responsibility. Most service members deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are welcome to apply.
“Our mission is to empower members to help their peers and improve our community,” said Capt. Maria Castle, the sexual assault prevention and response coordinator assigned to the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing. “Our vision is to inspire readiness and cultivate a healthy culture.”
There are only two requirements and one stipulation to joining Team Phoenix. An applicant must be open to helping peers with issues, know whom to direct their comrades to for professional help, and cannot be a mandatory reporter, such as a commander.
“When I brief the commanders about Team Phoenix, I say ‘what we need from you is to support us, but it’s important that the members are the ones empowered to create change from the bottom level and up,’” said Castle. “It is a peer-to-peer program, we don’t want to confuse the issue and put commanders in a position where they could struggle to figure out their role.”
Team Phoenix advocates for the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing’s five helping agencies: SARC, equal opportunity, mental health, chaplain corps and inspector general. Members do not represent or have the same confidentialities afforded to them as the agencies themselves. They are simply a shoulder to lean on and a helping hand to those in need.
“Change does not happen at the top, change happens peer to peer,” said Castle. “The general can yell and say, ‘We’re going to change the culture. - We’re Going To Change The Culture! - WE’RE GOING TO CHANGE THE CULTURE!!!’ The commander is only one person, when you get down to the lower levels and empower members to be agents of change, then those changes will happen.”
The Department of Defense requires all service members to attend a variety of annual or semi-annual helping agency briefs, that may or may not be actively listened to. What makes Team Phoenix different is its members have actively volunteered to attend at least one class a month, for more in-depth training like empathetic listening skills or bystander intervention techniques.
“Not everyone is comfortable with direct intervention,” said Castle. “Our members stepping up is just a way of them saying, ‘you know what, I really care and it’s not just going to be another brief for me,’ and we will use them to spark change.”
Team Phoenix members are required to volunteer at least one hour a month to the base community or professional development and must also wear an easily identifiable yellow-and-blue uniform-permitted patch, wristband or shirt, depending on their work area.
Like the legend their moniker bears, Team Phoenix will repeatedly renew PSAB’s culture with each troop rotation and burn away any adversity that may hold its members and their peers back from completing the mission.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2022 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 427737 |
| Location: | PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, SA |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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