Photo By Senior Airman Meagan Gardner | Ms. Mindy Griffith, victim advocate with the 190th Air Refueling Wing, gets to know...... read more read more
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – Have you ever heard, “What happens on TDY stays on TDY”? This phrase can be as harmless as gorging on your favorite snack while deployed or it can have a toxic meaning. Where some will use it to guilt others into not talking about anything bad that happened on TDY. Leadership doesn’t want this phrase to be used to guilt service members
into silence anymore.
Members of the 190th Air Refueling Wing traveled to Aviano AB for annual training, May 8-19. Various career fields were represented including Air Transportation, Supply, POL, Traffic Management, Vehicle Maintenance, Public Affairs, Force Support and Sexual Assault & Prevention Response.
“We started noticing a trend that a lot of reports were happening on TDY. Especially, the longer missions like Guam,” said Mindy Griffith, 190th ARW, Victim Advocate. “‘We approached leadership with the idea of sending SAPR on TDY. Major Casey Montgomery, LRS commander, made sure we had a seat on this trip.”
Historically on TDY if a sexual assault happened, it forced a service member to wait to get back to the base to properly report it to the SAPR team. These delayed actions caused service members to continue working with their offender until they returned to the base. This can put the service member in an unnecessary situation.
Sending a Victim Advocate on TDY allows for a swift response to report a sexual assault. The Victim Advocate is immediately available to provide trauma centered assistance for the service member.
“A lot of cases come back where it becomes one’s opinion against another. We want to be there to help better process these incidents and make sure everything goes through the proper protocols. This will help us have the right evidence to better investigate these reports,” said Griffith.
A TDY’s goal is to help service members understand different aspects of their job and to grow stronger as a multi-capable Airman. This is where they can learn how to push themselves and excel in their job. Being put in an unknown environment is enough stress however, experiencing a sexual assault could result in long lasting military sexual trauma or PTSD.
“We want to help as soon as possible for those that have gone through a horrible situation but asking them to wait weeks or even months to report this is detrimental to our survivors,” said Griffith. “With this idea of sending SAPR on TDY allows for us to help our Airmen focus on the mission. However, with this new initiative we need more victim advocates.”
The 190th SAPR team and the victim advocates have become a vital part of ensuring that the 190th has a better culture by ensuring care for survivors. By going out and making connections on TDY, the 190th SAPR team has made it clear that they are there and ready to help in a moment's notice.
Griffith said, "As part of the 190th SAPR team, we believe in the power of empathy and action. We are always available to respond to sexual assault, driven by a deep passion to help our fellow service members. Together, we strive to create a safe and supportive environment for
survivors to find healing and justice."
| Date Taken: | 07.06.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.06.2023 15:15 |
| Story ID: | 448641 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 369 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, What Happens on TDY Does NOT Stay on TDY, by MSgt Jake Meyer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT