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The Honorable Doug Miles, El Paso County Court Judge, speaks to Soldiers during the discussion panel at the 2nd Annual Domestic Violence Awareness Conference Oct. 29, 2015, at The Hub. Miles was one of the featured panel speakers and helped raise awareness of how to legally assist in handling domestic violence situations. (Photo by Jeanine Mezei)
By Jeanine Mezei
Mountaineer staff
Over 100 Soldiers took up every available space in the small conference room. They were fixated on the panel of speakers and listened to their every word as if their lives depended on it. But it was not their lives that depended on it, but the victims of domestic abuse.
Fort Carson and Colorado Springs law enforcement came together Oct. 29, 2015, at The Hub to participate in the 2nd annual Domestic Violence Awareness Conference hosted by Army Community Service (ACS), which was the last event held in October to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The highlight of the event was the discussion panel comprised of local legal and law enforcement representatives along with Fort Carson officials to discuss domestic violence trends on Fort Carson.
Soldiers from units throughout the installation attended to learn how to better handle domestic violence situations.
“(The event is) important because there is a high rate of domestic violence at Fort Carson,” said Ken Robinson, ACS Family Advocacy Program (FAP) representative, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. “The purpose is to educate the community as well as leaders about domestic violence and the resources available to them to prevent and respond to domestic violence for Soldiers and Family members.”
Since the majority of Fort Carson Soldiers and their Families reside off post, the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Lt. Howard Black was present to help answer questions about protection orders and reporting domestic violence.
“It gets complicated and we have to work this together,” Black said. “It’s not just a law enforcement issue, it’s a community issue, especially here.”
As Robinson pointed out, there is confusion about how to handle domestic violence and it’s a multidisciplinary effort from the community. The event is a way of getting correct information out to leaders and Family members so officials can work collaboratively to address issues.
“We have a good relationship and we’ve worked on it over the years,” said Jill Nugin, the FAP manager, about its standing with CSPD. “I think we are only as strong as the whole community is.”
Reporting domestic violence can have a stigma of backlash, according to Nugin, but she believes real progress can be made in educating Soldiers about getting help.
“People know it’s happening and aren’t sure what to do or how to get someone help,” Nugin said.
The conference aimed to shed light on how to help while maintaining a safe environment for victims, which can include Soldiers and Family members.
2nd Lt. Alex Kann, a platoon leader assigned to 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, plans on going back to her unit to educate her fellow Soldiers on what to do when domestic violence situations arise.
“I learned a lot about the laws and regulations, especially when they spoke about taking away weapons,” Kann said. “I’m going to go back to my unit and brush up on the policies and military protection orders.”