teal tuesday

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The month of April is known as Sexual Assault Awareness Month around the world. It is during this month that often military Sexual Assault Prevention & Response (SAPR) Teams will host significant events to bring awareness to the subject of sexual assault and awareness. The 90th MW/SAPR Program is similar; the first part of the month for the SAPR team at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (FEW) comprised of advertising. Getting out amongst the people giving out business cards and candy at gates with the first sergeants or sitting at tables visiting with people during their lunches was all a big build-up for three major events dominating the talk on the installation.

Mayra Guillen from the #IamVanessaGuillen Foundation flew to Denver, Colorado, from Houston, Texas to speak to the men and women at FEW. I was privileged to pick her up and be her assistant and chauffeur for the day she was in Cheyenne. What a privilege to hear an amazing and strong woman talk about her sister, the tragedy that occurred, and what has since occurred in the SAPR world as a result of Vanessa’s needless death. Over 600 people packed the FEW theater to hear Mayra. FEW was the first military installation after Vanessa’s death to invite Mayra to speak and follow through, and we made sure to leave a lasting impression that we pray will leave her wanting to come back and compare all her other visits to this one. It is my hope, with the help of sponsors, that next year, for SAAM, we will be able to dedicate a bench at the front of the installation to Vanessa’s Guillen and the Start by Believing concept. Already we have seen the impact that this woman has made just at FEW.

The theater was packed for Mayra Guillen

Following Mayra, we invited another impressive woman and survivor to teach at our gym on self-defense. Mrs. Sarah Falen-Tate is an impressive woman who is an attorney and advocate for our farmers and ranchers and teaches self-defense. Thanks to her daddy, who believed it essential for his children to learn self-defense Sarah was able to escape an attempt to kidnap, rape and assault her while she was out on a highway in Wyoming alone. She uses that knowledge to teach others how to be cognizant of their surroundings and, if necessary, the basic steps to escape if the need arises. This is the second year we have had Sarah at our installation, and she never fails to bring the heat. We look forward to her returning to teach more men and women at FEW.

Finally, the 26th of April arrived, and our team would make sure that the Annual SAPR 5K and Resource Fair finished the month with a bang. With only 52 people signed up to run and attend, we saw that the men and women at F.E. Warren Air Force Base would surprise us once again with over 100 people walking/running on a cold and blustery day, and then upon finishing heading to the Trails End for breakfast courtesy of the First Sergeants and coffee from Scooters Coffee and a wealth of information on self-care from the following organizations: SAPR, Chaplain Corp, the JA, Guard Prevention, Outdoor Recreation, Military One Source, 90/MW Prevention, Cheyenne Animal Shelter, Hands on Physical Therapy, Blue Federal Credit Union, Military One Sources, and many many men and women who assisted with set-up and tear down. We started with over ten tubs of swag to give out, and when we returned, we had less than two.

The conclusion of SAAM was amazing with more runners than anticipated and a fantastic resource fair.

April was an incredible month here at FEW. I look forward to seeing what Becki Burke, our new SARC, does with this program and how she takes it to new levels of trust and acceptance by both leadership and the men and women we serve.

Every 68 seconds, a person in the United States is sexually assaulted. One in five women in their lifetime will experience sexual assault. 24.8% of men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. These are staggering statistics. These same statistics are mirrored in our military armed forces. Every April across this nation and in many places of the world, Sexual Assault Awareness Month is recognized as a way to support the survivors and put the horrors of sexual assault in the limelight and how it can be prevented.

At F.E. Warren Air Force Base, the SAPR Team provided plenty of opportunities for our community to recognize survivors and help curb the tide of the sexual assault epidemic through action and education. One of the first things leadership and the SAPR Team do is utilize MMIII Park to recognize the month by lighting the missiles in teal, then providing banners at each installation gate.

April was a whirlwind of activities ranging from the missiles’ lighting to the month’s culmination with the annual 5K. Check out all these extraordinary events:

– 07 April Teal Tuesday was kicked off with a bang as community members dressed in their finest teal! Check out the Protocol Team here.

– On 10 April, Team SAPR hosted the movie “She Said” during First Friday at the Trails End.

– Volunteers manned a SAPR table at the Awake Coffee Shop and DFAC every Wednesday. For each person who purchased a drink at the Awake, their drink was ensconced in a sleeve that recognized the 2023 SAPR theme.

– Tuesdays and Thursdays were spent visiting each group to provide flyers of that week’s events or just visiting about available resources–this allowed the community to see the team being real.

– On 21 April, Team SAPR and the First Sergeant’s Council greeted installation members as they entered the gates in the morning. It was an excellent opportunity to give a coffee coupon and bring a little joy in the morning rush.

– 25 April, SAPR and Sarah Falen, a local attorney and self-defense instructor, hosted a self-defense class for all those nine years of age and older. Sixteen people attended this class, where Sarah emphasized the importance of situational awareness and basic moves to escape from bad situations. Sarah feels self-defense is critical because of her own story: In June of 2016, Sarah was towing a trailer home when it was necessary to get out of her truck on the side of a quiet highway to resecure her load. Several people stopped to see if she needed help, but the third one wanted to do more than help her when he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her off the trailer. Because of her twelve years of martial arts training, she could slam her feet to the ground (a technique she taught in the self-defense class), elbow him, and get loose. He tried again, and that is when she kicked him, got to her truck, and drove away. She wants to get her message out that she has done her job if even one person can learn a skill that keeps them from being victims like her. Due to Sarah’s self-defense class, people in the military community have asked her to return to do more.

– The last Wednesday of April, which fell on 26 April this year, is a call to action and awareness about sexual violence and victim shaming. Our installation commander allowed each group and squadron to decide whether uniforms would be shed for denim.

– The culmination of Sexual Assault Awareness Month at F.E. Warren Air Force Base concluded with the annual 5K Run-Walk, with a lunch and resource fair following. Thirty-seven people signed up for the race, with many more participating and enjoying lunch afterward. This great event would not have been as successful without the help of organizations like the NCOA, Culvers, and local artisan and Operations Group spouse Faithe-Maree Dell who supplied a quilt done in SAPR teals for the drawing.