Posted on Jan 10, 2016
Is the new Green Dot program worthwhile or a waste of time?
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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?
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?
Training
Air Force
Edited 9 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 11
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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