AFGSC holds Integrated Resilience Training Symposium at Barksdale

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lillian Miller
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  

Air Force Global Strike Command held the first Integrated Resilience Training Symposium at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, Sept. 18-19 2019.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response personnel, Community Support Coordinators, Violence Prevention Integrators and Equal Opportunity directors from all AFGSC bases rallied for the symposium to discuss leadership viewpoint, climate, culture and more.

“Your roles are integral to the [Air Force Global Strike Command] commander and to the lives of our Airmen,” Maj. Gen. Vito Addabbo, AFGSC deputy commander, told attendees during his welcome remarks.

The purpose of this symposium was to provide attendees with a chance to meet face-to-face with subject matter and AFGSC experts. The conference offered training, question-and-answer sessions and discussions on best practices to improve integrated resilience functions at an installation level.

“We have to coordinate our efforts because someone in this room might have the answer to someone else’s problem,” said Porsha Foster, a victim advocate from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. “By sharing our ideas, we can better prevent these things from happening. It's vital that we ensure we are on the same page.”

The Integrated Resilience Training Symposium helps support agencies learn new ways to more effectively reach and support Airmen. The ideas and feedback formed by the support agencies will be presented to AFGSC leadership.

“We are trying to come up with creative ways to support them [Airmen] and prevent any future violence from happening,” Foster said. “This symposium, to me, means cooperating and networking between other supporting agencies so that we can better serve our Airmen.”

By providing knowledge and counsel to SAPR, CSC, CPI and EO personnel, conference organizers hoped to provide these agencies beneficial knowledge they could take back to their home stations.