Photo By Seaman Laine Pulfer | From left, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3’s training officer Lt. Cmdr. John...... read more read more
NAVAL BASE VENTURA COUNTY PORT HUENEME, Calif. - Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 completed a 24-hour relay run, Friday, April 11, to help raise awareness about sexual assault.
Friends, family members and Seabees assigned to NMCB 3 gathered at Naval Base Ventura County Port Hueneme on a .25-mile track at 9 a.m., Thursday, April 10, to kick-off the 24-hour nonstop event.
“This run was a different way to get the message across to Live Our Values: Step up to Stop Sexual Assault,” said the run’s coordinator Chief Builder Jesse Garcia-Montes. “People will remember this event with help from our collection of beads and t-shirts we gave to participants.”
Runners received their t-shirts after registering for the run and were given a bead after each complete lap to add to their colorful strand.
The relay provided Seabees and other volunteers the chance to not only reflect on the importance of stopping sexual assault but also showing respect to those who have been or are still affected by sexual assault every day.
In addition to the 24-hour relay, NMCB 3’s Coalition of Seabee’s Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD) presented a skit to kick off the 24-hour evolution. CSADD’s Vice President Builder Constructionman Ashley Racy created the unique skit that focused on male sexual assault in order to highlight a lesser known fact and better support the day’s important message.
“I wanted to do something different because a lot of people fail to recognize that males are also affected by sexual assault – not just women,” said Racy. “So, that is why I chose to do a skit highlighting males, showing that they are also victims.”
A “chem-light” vigil at sunset was conducted to pay respect to victims affected by sexual assault throughout 2012. Each light stick represented 10 sexual assaults, resulting in a visual display of more than 2,000 sexual assaults that had occurred in the Navy during 2012. Seabees, family members - even the furry four-legged ones - continued running into the night as the more than 200 chem-lights glowed on the side of the track, reminding participants of why they were there braving the brisk ocean breeze.
“As NMCB 3, we truly care about the troops and about raising awareness of sexual assault,” said Garcia-Montes. “We have 60 victim advocates all trained and willing to help any possible victim. This command doesn’t just talk about raising awareness with no action – they walk the walk.”
Total, participants ran more than 4,000 miles, which is beyond the coast-to-coast distance measured from each U.S. coast.
Raising awareness though this unique event allowed NMCB 3 Seabees the chance to affect positive while building a special camaraderie within the battalion.
NMCB 3 provides combatant commanders and Navy component commanders with combat-ready warfighters capable of general engineering, construction and limited combat engineering across the full range of military operations.
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2014 02:07 |
| Story ID: | 125941 |
| Location: | PORT HUENEME, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sun up to sun up, NMCB 3 demonstrates commitment to preventing sexual assault, by SN Laine Pulfer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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