Stranger, don't touch me!

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Sanjay Allen
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  More than 800,000 children are reported missing every year, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. And the 49th Wing Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office combated this statistic May 14 at the Community Activity Center with training for the base's youth.

Know and Go, hosted by Tracey Spencer, 49th WG Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, and taught by David Overstreet, a local tae kwon do instructor, is designed to teach 7- to 11-year-olds how to create a window of opportunity to escape from a potential abduction by teaching them skills to delay the attempt for two minutes. According to the Overstreet TaeKwonDo Academy website, research shows after two minutes the attacker is more likely to withdraw to avoid being caught.

"We're not teaching them how to beat up somebody, but just to delay and frustrate that abductor for two minutes," said Mr. Overstreet, instructor of Tom Patire's "Know and Go" Personal Protection course. "We give them seven or so skills to accomplish that."

The Tularosa Basin may be a small community, however, abductions can take place anywhere and it's important for children to know how to handle the situation.

"I think that many people have that false sense of security as far as, 'I'm on base, I'm in a small town and nothing is going to happen here,' and things do happen in small towns and small communities," said Ms. Spencer. "This is a highway community. People drive through and think, 'well, I can grab a child or somebody and just keep on driving.'"

The SARC goes on to explain that we may live on base, but the personnel here are not always protected by the fence and the security measures in place.

"Even though we live on base, we still go to town ... we have to turn for a second to pay the bill or to put the groceries in the car, and even though we do our best to keep our eyes on our children 100 percent of the time, we still can't always do that," she said. "You're distracted and your child walks away, it's a perfect opportunity for a bad guy or bad person to take advantage of the situation."

Even with the training the children learned, parents will always hope a situation never arises where their child will have to put the training they received to use. As Mr. Overstreet pointed out, active parenting is always the first line of defense, and the "Know and Go" training is a last resort.

"What we're teaching the kids is sort of plan B," he said. "Plan A is the adult actively supervising and watching."

Tech. Sgt. Michelle Gamble, 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron and mother of participant Kaden Gamble, 7, thought the course was a great second line of defense.

"I thought it was great," she said. "I think all kids should go to it. My son went home and practiced on his brother! He said, 'Mikel, try to take me!'

"Everyone's child should go because you're not always on base," Sergeant Gamble added. "What if you go to Las Cruces or the store? They need to know how to get away."

Brandon Rabjohn, 7, son of Elizabeth Rabjohn-Allen, 49th Comptroller Squadron, learned if a stranger was able to slip through the watchful eye of his mother and attempt to abduct them, to scream, "stranger, don't touch me!"

Brandon and his brother, Jaylen Allen, 9, believe the rest of their peers should attend the class.

Jaylen said, "I would tell them to come here because if they're under attack with a stranger, or getting taken away, you know what to do and this class will show you what to do."