An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Air Commando's tackle Sexual Assault Obstacle Course

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kentavist P. Brackin
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Approximately two out of three sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. Someone in the United States is sexually assaulted every two minutes, and an estimated 7,539 women and men currently serving the United States Air Force have experienced sexual assault.

These were some of the many statistics Airmen learned during the Air Commandos Versus Sexual Assault obstacle course held near the Child Development Center Main on Hurlburt Field, Fla., June 21.

More than 160 Air Commandos participated in the 2.3-mile obstacle course to help raise sexual assault awareness among service members.

The event was hosted by Hurlburt Airman's Voice, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office and the Fort Walton Beach Military Affairs Committee.

"People love competition, and if we can combine that with education, it makes for a perfect awareness event," said Janet Morrison, Hurlburt Field's SARC. "This was an excellent opportunity for our Airmen to compete with one another, and become aware of some of the issues concerning sexual assault."

Teams of four to five, ranging from junior Airmen to the wing commander, gathered at various times throughout the morning to take on the course.

"There are going to be people along the obstacle course that are going to try to slow you guys down," said Airman 1st Class Rayna Yamamoto, HAV president, during her briefing to the participants. "These obstacles represent that sexual assault does happen. We may or may not know about it, but it still affects the Air Force mission."

Obstacles included flipping a large tractor tire, weaving between cones while dodging water balloons, low and high crawls on the Soundside beach, and more.

Participants also had to memorize sexual assault awareness statistics, which were placed along various portions of the course. Failure to answer the questions correctly resulted in a penalty for the entire team -- usually a large number of push-ups.

"It's been a great turnout," said Airman 1st Class Jeremy Minerich, coordinator for the event. "You see a lot of tired faces after the course, but they're all talking about how much fun it was and in end that's what we want -- people to talk about it."

Airmen were treated to a picnic lunch, sponsored by the Fort Walton Beach Military Affairs Committee, following the obstacle course.