Pentagon Deploys ‘May I Kiss You?’ Training

Posted 2015-04-13 11:50 by Grunt Report with 0 comments

An issue that could “dramatically affect” the mission of the United States Armed Forces is telling soldiers when it is okay to kiss a girl.

The Air Force is the latest branch to employ the services of Mike Domitrz, a speaker and author known for his “May I Kiss You?” training session, to teach servicemembers about consent and sexual assault prevention.

On Thursday the Air Force awarded Domitrz’s company, the Date Safe Project, $10,000 for three training sessions.

Domitrz’s 60 to 90 minute sessions offer a “unique combination of humor and dramatic story telling,” the Air Force said in an attachment detailing the contract terms.

“The ‘May I Kiss You’ presentation minimizes defensiveness and promotes an open discussion of an often silent topic,” the Air Force said.

Each “May I Kiss You?” session covers three major areas: asking before a person engages in intimacy with their partner, how to intervene if they see alcohol used to facilitate sexual assault, and how to support a survivor should they confide in the audience member that they have been affected by a sexual assault.

The Air Force’s 7th Operations Support Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas issued the contract, which was signed by Kelly Dominguez, the sexual assault response coordinator for the U.S. Air Force.

Domitrz was inspired to raise awareness about sexual assault after his sister was raped in the 1980s, creating his “one person show” while he was still in college.

It took a while for Domitrz’s speaking career to take off. He worked as a DJ and high school coach for a decade, honing his skills in “interactive education, educating teenagers, working with college students, and performing in front of big and small audiences.”

In 2002 Domitrz, then a stay-at-home dad, attracted notice from “educational experts” while delivering his “Can I Kiss You?” talk at a national conference. Advocacy groups, college campuses, and eventually the U.S. military began calling.

Domitrz hosted sessions for the military three times this week, said Matt Namey, a spokesperson for the Date Safe Project.

He gives the “Can I Kiss You?” talk at an average of 50 military bases a year, including recent sessions at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Fort Bragg, Fort Meade, Fort Belvoir, and the Navy Fleet Forces stationed in Bahrain. An upcoming event is scheduled at the Atlantic Fleet Forces in Naples, Italy.

Domitrz said preventing sexual assault is an issue of “enormous importance” and praised the military for being proactive.

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