Military members become familiar with the face of a bystander

by Airman 1st Class Tammie Ramsouer
JBER Public Affairs

11/26/2013 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The firelight illuminates a group of partiers. A man walks up to a woman who is drunk. You see her try to push him off but he will not leave. Do you chalk it up to persistence on this man's part, or do you do something more, something that could prevent a painful situation?

A bystander is an individual who sees something happen and must decide whether to intervene. Here on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, U.S. Army Alaska provided bystander intervention training to Soldiers and Airmen with scenarios, videos and interaction to better prepare them to safely intervene in an incident.

The training is part of an effort by six communities in Anchorage, one of which is Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, with representation from the Family Advocacy Program.

"Bystander intervention training helps others to understand how to intervene when a sexual assault or domestic violence is occurring and how to intervene both with strangers and people they may know," said Julia Petersen, USARAK deputy Chief of Staff office program and planning specialist.

During the training, speakers encouraged the audience to express how they would intervene in given situations. Bystander intervention training is mandatory for all Airmen and Soldiers once a year.

"Many people are passive due to barriers they have, whether it's the fear of others carrying a gun or that they could be wrong about the way the situation reads," said Diann Richardson, 673d Medical Group Family Advocacy outreach program manager. "What we are initially teaching is the three Ds - directly intervene in a situation, distract from the intensity of the situation or delegate someone to actually help the situation."

The audience could choose from the three Ds during the scenarios, which featured actors from the University of Alaska-Anchorage's drama department.

"This gives military members practical tools they can use when they assess a situation where someone could be at risk of harm," Richardson said.

Richardson read a letter to the audience from Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Calvin. In the letter Calvin explained his experience being a bystander. Calvin was in downtown Anchorage walking when he heard a man and woman arguing. The argument escalated to the point where the man pinned the woman up against a wall by her neck. That is when Calvin decided to intervene. He ran out to help the woman by yelling at the man, telling him to get away from the woman and saying he would call that police. Calvin called the police and scared the man off. Calvin assessed the situation and credited the bystander intervention training for his decision and ability to help the woman.

Calvin's letter struck a chord with at least one audience member.

Spc. Janessa Raines, 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Headquarters and Headquarters Company chemical specialist, said that she had been in a similar situation.

"If I was in that position, I would want someone to intervene for me," Raines said. "I just hope that I would be brave enough to do the same for others."

The training provided insight on personal experiences and made people think about how they could have intervened instead of being a bystander, Richardson said.

"Bystander intervention training tells us that it is better to be wrong about a situation and ask the question, because there is a chance they could be right," Petersen said.