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Sexual Assault Awareness ‘Begins at Top’

4/9/2013 – BALTIMORE, Md. (AFPS) — To combat and put an end to sexual assault in the military, the Defense Department has designed programs to boost victim medical care, increase assault reporting and hold offenders accountable for their crimes, the director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office said here April 5.

Responding to questions as a member of a panel discussing the 2012 movie “The Invisible War” as part of the End Violence Against Women international conference, Army Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton discussed DOD’s no-tolerance policy on sexual assault for an audience that included first responders, prosecutors and criminal investigation department agents.

Charged with positioning the military to “win the war on sexual assault,” Patton said he believes that sexual assault cannot be conquered until it is a more visible issue. “The Invisible War” helped with that awareness, he added.

Sexual assaults are terrible crimes that have a “lasting, scary, traumatic effect” on victims, the general said.

The Defense Department works worldwide to prevent and respond to sexual assault, using “five lines of effort,” Patton said: prevention, accountability, investigation, victim advocacy and assessment.

Prevention begins with training commanders in best practices and working that effort down to the lowest level, Patton said. Each service branch, he said, has such a program in place.

The interactive training includes scenario-based discussions led by professionals, and also features victim testimony and other issues that “underscore the emphasis and the importance this training has to prevent sexual assault,” the general said.

Accountability’s aim is to hold sexual offenders appropriately accountable in the military justice system, and to encourage victims to report the crime, Patton said,

Investigation into sexual assault is performed separately from the chain of command via a policy to obtain optimum results, he said.

“We’re creating a special victims capability for each of the services,” Patton explained, “and will deliver a distinct group of specially trained professionals such as victim witness liaisons, paralegals, and so forth, all united under our common policy framework of standardized training … to come together and work these important aspects.”

Victim advocacy is a way to standardize and offer reporting options to victims, to motivate reporting and enable greater accountability for offenders, Patton said, noting that military sexual assault victims who want to change their units have had a 99 percent success rate.

Assessment includes surveys and reviews for commanders to see how their program is doing in a meaningful and accurate way, from victim intervention to medical care, Patton said.

The general said the Defense Department’s efforts to curb sexual assaults will enable culture change. “I believe we can turn this around,” he said. “The [department] is firmly committed to changing the culture.”

Panelist Russell Strand, chief of family advocacy law enforcement training for the Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., also weighed in on the importance of culture change.

“I’ve never seen a culture change [happen] so fast, so well and so immediately in the military,” said Strand, a former service member. He added that sexual assault is taken seriously in the military.

“We will do whatever it takes to minimize, and eventually eradicate, this scourge upon our military,” Strand said.

“We have best military in the world, [and] we have a lot of things we do well and some we don’t do so well,” he added. “There are hundreds of thousands of people in the military who take this issue as seriously as we do. When we hear or see a story, it breaks our heart, collectively and individually.”

Patton said DOD’s efforts to combat sexual assault are far-reaching.

“We intend to make the U.S. military a national leader in sexual assault prevention and response,” he added.

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NY National Guard Headquarters Marks Memorial Day

MAY 27, 2022 – The New York National Guard’s headquarters staff marked Memorial Day and remembered those who gave their lives in the service of the United States, with a short ceremony outside the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs Headquarters in Latham, New York on Thursday, May 26. The ceremony featured […]

Is the Army Reserve Calling You?

APRIL 27, 2022 – Graduating high school is a momentous achievement culminating in years of hard work and dedication. It also presents one of the most challenging questions many people will face in their life, “What do I do now?” Many high school students struggle with what they should do next, joining the workforce or […]

NEXCOM’s NEXT Gen Scholars Program Support Students

MAY 17, 2022 – The Navy Exchange Service Command’s (NEXCOM) NEXT gen Scholars Program offers qualified students the opportunity to win $2,500, $1,500, $1,000 or $500 each quarter for earning good grades in school. The next drawing is at the end of June 2022. To enter the drawing, students must be full-time with a “B” […]

How to Live as a Civilian After Active Duty

MAY 20, 2022 – When you were on active duty, money might not have been a huge issue. You lived on base, ate at the mess hall, and didn’t have any outstanding debt. Life was far different than what you lived prior to entering the service. But now that your time in the military is […]

DoD Authorizes Temporary Increase to 2021 BAH Rates

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 – The Department of Defense has temporarily authorized increases in the 2021 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates for 56 housing markets (commonly referred to as Military Housing Areas, MHAs) across the U.S. Uniformed service members who have incurred increased housing costs above their current BAH may be eligible to apply and […]

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