Dave Thomason, the Fleet and Family Support Program’s Family Advocacy Program (FAP) educator knows the reality of what his education could help prevent. Thomason, a retired master-at-arms master chief, was the NAS Whidbey Island’s chief of police for five years prior to moving into his current position.

According to Thomason, he expected his first day at Whidbey in July 2000 to be made up of meeting and greeting and getting settled in. Instead, he was made aware of some bad news. 

Lt.j.g. Scott Kinkele was shot and killed while driving home from hiking Mount Rainier the evening before. The murder, committed by a group of men along State Route 20 near Anacortes, amounted to nothing more than a thrill-kill with no motive for revenge or road rage attached—just boredom on the murderers’ part.

In the same week Thomason learned that his department was involved in a murder investigation that had resulted from domestic violence. A petty officer from Naval Hospital Oak Harbor had murdered his wife who was also serving on active duty and had recently returned from deployment.

The petty officer allegedly walked into their bedroom after his wife returned home, strangled her with a telephone cord, took his wife’s body to the main gate and turned himself in to security.

The case Thomason remembers most vividly is that of a petty officer 3rd class living in Seaplane Base housing who was shot in the head and killed by the father of her young daughter.

Thomason was the third officer on the scene and had the torturous task of removing the daughter from the residence and worked with a chaplain to obtain identifying information.

Thomason said he still cannot enter any bedroom without thinking of that shattered family and seeing the image of the young girl flash before him. Despite Thomason’s preconceptions of a safe, quiet, tight-knit community, violence nearly anywhere can be lurking in the shadows, and according to Thomason, domestic violence is too often underrated.

“This isn’t just a little spat in base housing that security gets called for and has to break up, sometimes it ends tragically,” said Thomason. “I’ve seen it personally. The perpetrator who killed the third class had stated openly the night before that he was going to kill her.”

Thomason added that the death was completely senseless and preventable.

Knowing the results of domestic violence from his police work, Thomason provides an enlightened and passionate perspective to prevention.

His goal is to educate 100 percent of the active duty personnel on board the station and as many family members and the rest of the military community as possible. He preaches the culture behind domestic violence and believes raising awareness helps prevent future tragedies.

Thomason recently hosted a presentation on NAS Whidbey to discuss domestic violence issues in the AIMD conference room.

“The class was some of the best training I’ve had,” said one Sailor in attendance. “The instructor was very educated and passionate about the subject. He kept me interested and offered a new perspective on the subject. I learned a lot.”

Thomason said that his long-term goal as the FAP educator is to provide quality training to the men, women and families of NAS Whidbey and to better educate the military community in an effort to increase quality of life for all.

“Specifically, I would like to raise awareness in the areas of domestic violence and child abuse and to have an impact that reduces, or hopefully one day eliminates, these cancers on society,” Thomason said. “We only get one life and if I can be a part of improving someone else’s then I improve my own as well.”