McChord Airman wins SAPR poster contest

by Staff Sgt. Jason Truskowski
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

8/23/2013 - JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Having an artistic bone in your body is handy; being able to create something that inspires and motivates others to be better Airmen is pure talent.

For Airman 1st Class Travis Gallegos, 627th Communication Squadron cyber systems operator, drawing has always been a part of his daily life. In 2011, prior to joining the Air Force, he obtained an Associate's of Graphic Design from Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell, Mont.

Gallegos, a native of Columbia Falls, Mont., was the winner of the 2013 Sexual Assault Response and Prevention program poster contest at McChord Field.

"Sexual Assault is an on-going issue and I have seen the heartache and pain caused by it," said Gallegos. "This was my way of helping to stop sexual assault."

The SAPR poster contest was an initiative thought up by dormitory SAPR-focus groups to help raise awareness of sexual assault for the dorm residents of Team McChord. These focus groups, which are entirely made up of dorm residents, come up with ways to prevent sexual assault in their living areas and are hoping to expand their coverage throughout all of Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

"We wanted to hear from the Airmen since they are the ones most-often impacted by sexual assault," said Heather VanMill, 62nd Airlift Wing SAPR program manager. "It is a way to help the Airmen have ownership of the SAPR program, which will make the overall program more robust."

A number of designs were submitted and Gallegos' design was selected to help exemplify the SAPR program at McChord Field.

"The winning poster represents a key message from our senior leaders that we (all of us) must own the solution to stopping sexual assault in our ranks," said Col. Jeff Philippart, 62nd Airlift Wing vice commander.

The poster, which will be hung in the dormitory common areas until April 2014, embodies the message the Department of Defense is trying to portray to the members of the uniformed services. Gallegos incorporated April's DoD sexual assault awareness -month theme, "We Own It, We'll Solve It...Together," and included the teal colored ribbon representing sexual assault awareness.

"I wanted to go with that theme and make it personal," said Gallegos. "I decided to draw the words out in the most clean, professional way I could."

"I can't take all the credit; I am nothing without my friends and family helping me put on the finishing touches and giving me helpful ideas to improve the overall outcome of my design."

Gallegos would like to pass the following to the Airmen of Team McChord, "We have had meeting after meeting concerning the issues of sexual assault. The day you come to work and don't hear about sexual assault is the day all those briefings will have paid off. The only thing that matters is you, 'make a change, be the difference', and stop sexual assault."