Airmen 'Jump into Prevention'

Published May 3, 2010
By Airman 1st Class David Tracy
9th RW Public Affairs

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Airmen and civilians gathered at the Lincoln Regional Airport, April 30 to skydive as part of Sexual Assault Awareness month.

The event, titled "Jump into Prevention," gave 38 people the chance to skydive while raising awareness about sexual assault.

The idea came about more than 10 years ago when a victim of sexual assault decided she didn't want to live in fear anymore. On the anniversary of her assault, she and some friends conquered her fear of heights by skydiving. This sparked events of similar fashion across the nation in the years to follow.

"Jump into Prevention" was coordinated by Beale's Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, Dr. Michael Stacy. Dr. Stacy does not believe there are currently any other bases in the country that have a skydiving event to raise awareness for sexual assault, although many civilian organizations do.

"Hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the nation go out and skydive in the month of April to raise awareness for sexual assault prevention," Dr. Stacy said. "We came up with our own program right here at Beale."

This is the second year Beale has had Airmen, family members and Department of Defense civilians participate in the event.

The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office gave participants T-shirts, certificates and SAPRO coins for having the courage to leap out of the plane at 14,000 feet.

Following each jump, participants were all smiles and happy they jumped.

"I did not hear single person say 'I wish I did not do that,'" Dr. Stacy said. "Now they get to go around and talk it up on base, raising awareness of our program. That's what it's all about."

Senior Airman Corey Dodge, 9th Operations Support Squadron air traffic controller, said he would do it again in a heartbeat.

"My ears really hurt, but it was worth it," Airman Dodge said.

The SARC already has a plan in place to increase participation for next year's jump.

"What I'm telling people now is to put aside 10 to 12 dollars a month and next year they'll be able to do it," Dr. Stacy said.

The SAPRO held other events in April including a comedic, educational play titled "Sex Signals" to teach Airmen about different situations that can be considered sexual assault.

For more information on sexual assault prevention, people can call the base SARC office.