Is the new Green Dot program worthwhile or a waste of time?

MSgt Alex Taylor — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 14:05:30 -0500

http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/639586/green-dot-to-roll-out-across-the-air-force.aspx

The Air Force intends to push out another training class early this year. After reading the synopsis on the Air Force's website, I am weary of this. The topics the Air Force seems to think warrant discussion as part of the Green Dot program seem misguided to me.

The training part of this program is intended to be group discussions at least. If the intent is to hold small group discussions, then we might actually get something out of this. I don't think it will be though given the number of 'facilitators' undergoing training. More mass briefing/death by Powerpoint is going to alienate the intended audience in my opinion. We've got enough CBTs, mass trainings, and powerpoint intruding on our daily duties already, adding more doesn't seem to be the way to go. The basic premise of the training, violence prevention, seems to be all encompassing. Not only does it add onto the already overdone SAPR briefings, but I see things that step out of our daily responsibilities and into a grey area where the police should really be involved. If I come across half the items outlined that this training will cover, my first response will be to call law enforcement/Security Forces. A quick training class won't make me an expert on these subjects. The only thing I can see this giving me is better insight to dealing quick cases where quick actions may prevent larger problems.

Another item I have to question is the use of an outside agency to create the course and train our 'facilitators'. Are we paying them? If so, why? In this time of fiscal constraints and the Air Force trying to move money to certain acquisitions, how can we really afford this? Is there an underlying current of violence we aren't being made aware of in the Air Force? If so, then we should have been told about it a long time ago. I wonder if where this idea came from, and is the service really getting something it needs.

Of course, I'll support this training publicly and assist people in accomplishing it because the 100% completion metric will be the new Holy Grail, but I hold reservations as to the necessity of this. Does anybody else feel the same concerning the proposed training, or do you have other thoughts and considerations?

Green Dot to roll out across the Air Force

Airmen will take the first step of a five-year strategy to decrease interpersonal violence across the service in January when 1,500 Airman implementers attend one of 22 Green Dot prep sessions

Response by TSgt Gwen Walcott made Jan 10 at 2016 2:54 PM

TSgt Gwen Walcott — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 14:54:44 -0500

??????
What is "Green Dot"? (other than a pre-paid Visa card)

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2016 2:59 PM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 14:59:44 -0500

Sweet! More training that we have to keep up with annually or we get pulled from our actual job to chase down someone to instruct us! Add it to the long list of boxes to check off each month!

Response by 1stSgt Michael Gartland made Jan 10 at 2016 4:33 PM

1stSgt Michael Gartland — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 16:33:13 -0500

The thought of more "trained facilitators" would scare me. It sounds like someone needs an EPR bullet.

However, there are already plenty of groups on the AF Portal where you can have discussions. You can also create a new group for any subject matter that interests you.

If you want to participate in joint discussions, there is also a DoD site called milbook that is easy to use.

Response by SSgt Rilene Ann made Jan 10 at 2016 5:53 PM

SSgt Rilene Ann — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 17:53:25 -0500

In the local community of Fairbanks it lost funding. It basically covers solutions already covered in other programs.

Response by Sgt Bruce C. made Jan 12 at 2016 12:07 PM

Sgt Bruce C. — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:07:01 -0500

This sounds a lot like the FAA. Sound like someone selling an idea to someone high up the chain, so that they could move up the ladder or justify their job.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 12 at 2016 5:07 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:07:15 -0500

This is a joke , right? In the world of reality there are some basic tenets. 1) You get what you measure. We are now measuring incidents of violence and sexual assault. Fine - now we have statistics that will let us make decisions. 2) Change what isn't working so the metrics (see #1) move the direction you want. Obviously, CBT's and Wing training on SAPR and all the rest has virtually no effect. Adding another training regimen simply tasks us with another wasted set of hours.

Maybe it's time to re-think the corrective process in order to better hit the objective. If the AF wants to spend money, hire a firm to profile the at-risk and at-cause personnel. Then use a statistician to develop scenarios in which these incidents happen, in order of precedence. Then hire a training firm to focus on helping the at-risk and at-cause groups identify risky situations and helping them develop behaviors that mitigate the risk. Sounds expensive? Sounds time-consuming? It is and it should be if we really want a change. Don't slap a coat of paint on a crumbling building.

Response by SSgt Paul Esquibel made Jan 16 at 2016 2:19 PM

SSgt Paul Esquibel — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 14:19:57 -0500

I see it as a worthwhile investment with the intent to phase out the old programs and misc responsibilities of others so that they can then focus on the mission. Lets be real, first and foremost everyone in the military are still people, we all have arrogance, bias agendas, issues etc, have a civilian organization come in and try to help is always better then honestly thinking were fully capable of doing it ourselves like how the HAWK used to do the PT test, it makes the system easier for future generations.

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 16 at 2016 11:35 PM

CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 23:35:56 -0500

It is disheartening to think that Airmen think Green Dot is just another program to obtain another EPR bullet. This goes to show that ignorance is bliss! This is another venue to educate folks on how to communicate with one another. The intent is not to create another program; it is an effort to let Airmen know there is more than one way to get help if needed. We have Airmen that won't talk to anyone about their personal issues because they are in fear of losing pay if they acknowledged they have concerns or if they are working through hard times.

Typically I don't respond to these comments, but our Airmen and some of the comments are so far fetched, I just couldn't ignore the comments I've seen so far. I'd hope that the people who have responded negatively would do a little more research in why initiatives like Green Dot are created.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 14 at 2016 11:37 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 14 May 2016 11:37:51 -0400

It's very simple as I see it: #1 - GD is your Dating/domestic violence, stalking & Sexual Assault trng; #2 - it's a tool to make members aware of "where their line in the sand is" that line being different for each person by choice, for many situational/person based reasons. Leaving this new adopted training by choosing your GD commitment - whatever that is - by Directly, Delegating, and/or Distraction; by choosing one of the 3Ds- your individual choice/action - collectively impact a cultural change. Lessening the #'s of Interpersonal Violence within the military and our communities ♡

Response by TSgt Mark Olson made Jun 20 at 2016 3:24 PM

TSgt Mark Olson — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 15:24:16 -0400

Officer compensation for Green Dot went fron $30K in 2011 to $300K in 2013. Just another non-profit targeting the military...similar to WWP. Training iwascomplete B.S. Mostly joking around and any proposed intervention solutions would likely get you shot. Waste of time. Wonder how much the AF forked out for this disaster.

Response by CMSgt Tony Wyatt made Apr 23 at 2018 2:00 PM

CMSgt Tony Wyatt — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:00:17 -0400

A big waste of time that's enriching a contractor on the backs of Airmen. The Army fired them a few years ago because the program proved useless and a waste of time.