Not just another SARC brief

by Airman 1st Class Deana Heitzman
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

11/4/2014 - AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- Recently, I was asked by my first sergeant to participate in a mock trial as a pretend jury member.

Unsure of what to expect, I arrived at Aviano's court room in full service dress at 9 a.m. on Oct. 28 met by 16 other Airmen.

We filed into the court room and were directed to sit in the jury box. After being greeted by Aviano's Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, my prevailing questions were answered. We were informed that while we were not actually participating in a real court proceeding, the sexual assault case we were being presented was real and did go to court.

In the military, sexual assault can be a repetitive topic consisting of training and discussion groups throughout one's career. For most, however, our knowledge of what happens after a sexual assault case is limited to hear-say and gossip.

I am continually taught to be careful and aware of my surroundings. Various briefings have influenced my perceptions of "stranger danger" and the idea that an offender is typically a stranger. However, we now know assaults can occur with people we know or even see every day.

But, for the Airmen in the courtroom with me that day, we received a first-hand account of a real sexual assault hearing.

We watched a recreated video testimony of the victim describing the events that led to the alleged attack. We also heard arguments from both the prosecutor and the defense counsel based on the facts presented during the trial.  After hearing both sides, the jury members were directed to our deliberation room to decide on one thing- was he guilty?

I thought to myself, this is the typical case we hear about in all our briefings. Alcohol was involved, mixed feelings were shared and communication was lost by the end of the night. It was hard to determine morally, whether or not we were going to ruin this man's life.

Our votes were counted and the jury president presented the outcome.

The jury's discussion made me realize the pain for both parties. I saw it was painful for the girl to describe, in-depth, what happened to her that night, and I also saw how painful it was for the male to sit and listen to the story. Even more, I saw the stress that both of them endured throughout the whole judicial process.

This experience opened my eyes to a subject I had closed them to months before. Sexual assault does happen in the military, we've been told that, but before putting yourself in a potentially dangerous situation, imagine yourself painfully telling your story to a court room or listening to what you did from a friend.