Greywolf troopers support SHARP on the greens

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Story by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf

Date: 04.20.2014
Posted: 04.29.2014 01:21
News ID: 127978
Greywolf troopers support SHARP on the greens

FORT HOOD, Texas – With a gentle breeze blowing and the sun shining on their shoulders, a group of troopers stare at the yellow flag flapping in the wind over 200 yards away. One trooper raises his shiny metal club over his shoulder and strikes the small white ball.

Troopers with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division participated in the inaugural “Greywolf” Sexual Assault Awareness Month Golf Scramble and came together to learn more about the Army’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention program April 16 at Fort Hood, Texas.

“I think this event is great in a couple of ways,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Branom, a Carrollton, Texas, native and the sexual assault response coordinator for 3rd BCT. “The Soldiers spend the day golfing with their buddies, and after we talk about sexual assault and how it affects the Army.”

Branom organized the event to support the 3rd BCT SHARP program.

“The Army is addressing sexual assault by first focusing on prevention through education and training,” said Branom. “That is what we are doing with the Sexual Assault Awareness Month Golf Scramble.”

Soldiers played three, nine-hole courses at rhe Courses of Clear Creek. Troopers of various skill levels were divided into four-person teams and progressed through the courses one hole at a time.

“I may have played golf a total of two times,” said Spc. Christopher Bullock, a Spring, Texas, native and scout for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team “It doesn’t matter. The weather is great, and I’m playing with my buddies I work with.”

“I come here every weekend,” said Spc. Tyler Jones, a Wayne, W.Va., native and tanker with 2-7 Cavalry. “This is a great teambuilding exercise especially when everyone on my team is in my platoon.”

The golfing event had two goals — to enable Soldiers to enjoy a day of golf and to raise their awareness of the effects sexual assault has on the Army.

“It is great the brigade would let us come out here [for this event],” said Staff Sgt. Ricky Laney, a cannon crew member for Company A, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment.

As the Soldiers finished with their round of golf, they met at the clubhouse to eat and received an informational seminar on how sexual assault affects the Army and how to be leaders in prevention.

“We need to create a positive environment of trust and respect, so every person can succeed and achieve their full potential,” said Branom. “Working together and demonstrating the seven Army values can help foster that environment.”