COMMENTARY: Sexual Assault Awareness Month represents more than awareness Published April 10, 2013 By Col. Johnny Roscoe 15th Wing commander JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Fellow Airman, I'd like to take a moment to discuss a serious issue which severely wounds and scars our Service and its victims, and that is sexual assault. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but it is not enough to just say we are aware that sexual assault is a problem. Each of us must make an active and personal commitment to treat each other with dignity and respect. We must do everything in our power to prevent this crime from continuing; including intervening to prevent the victimization of our fellow wingmen. We own this problem and we will solve it together. This month should be about taking action, rather than possessing awareness. Passively acknowledging a month's worth of awareness activities does not do justice to the thousands of victims of sexual assault. From top to bottom, each one of us must actively ensure we do not allow the very fabric of trust that military service is built upon to be eroded from within. Sexual assault violates our Air Force core values, destroys unit cohesion, and completely undermines the environment that is essential to our mission success. If you are a victim of sexual assault, you can take action too. I know reaching out for help is never easy, and takes an immense amount of personal courage, but I ask you to be brave and seek support through our world-class resources available to you. Compassionate professionals are ready and available to help you, regardless of where you are or what time it is. It is important that you know and understand, when it comes to sexual assault reporting, I will do everything I can to ensure when you turn to your chain of command, you can have the utmost faith and confidence it will not let you down. Preventing sexual assault starts with developing a working environment where individuals feel free to stand up and to confront unacceptable behaviors at the first occurrence. In December, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force ordered health and welfare inspections throughout the Air Force. More than 32,000 unprofessional, pornographic, or offensive items were found in Air Force working environments through the course of the inspections; of these, 29 came from units within the 15th Wing. It's worth noting that these findings do not include things such as inappropriate jokes or verbal comments, which aren't detected by an inspection. At the core, it is your duty and our shared responsibility to actively intervene in order to prevent sexual assault. Each of you has the power to make a difference and prevent potential sexual assaults from occurring. My goal is that in the future we do not have to speak of bystanders, because if you were a bystander you failed to watch out for your wingman. This should be our shared goal, but I need your help to make it happen. If our efforts can save just one person from the devastating pain and humiliation of a sexual assault, then all of our efforts at prevention will not have been in vain. We can never ease up one bit in our fight against sexual assault, and that fight can't only last for one month. Support Agencies Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office: The SAPR office and victim advocates provide confidential support and information on reporting options available to victims so that you can decide what is best for you. They are located in the Nelles Chapel (Bldg 500). Our Installation SARC is Captain Ryan Peake (808) 449-7272 / (449-SARC) or in emergencies at (808) 520-3403. DoD Safe Helpline: The Safe Helpline provides safe, secure, and confidential web: https://www.safehelpline.org/ and phone: (877) 995-5247 support to members of all military branches and is available 24/7 anywhere in world.