Photo By Staff Sgt. Michael Folkerth | Leaders from across Fort Hood gathered to get a better understanding of the sexual...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas - In 2013, Congress debated on whether or not taking away military commander’s court-martial authority would help improve the issues of the military’s handling of sexual assault cases. Now more than ever leaders across the military are doing what they can to ensure they are confident and competent in their abilities to pursue justice in any and all sexual assault or sexual harassment cases.
Leaders from across Fort Hood participated in a Sexual Assault Response Team Training Symposium held at Club Hood, Feb. 3-4, 2015. The purpose of the training was to educate leaders on the specific roles and responsibilities of each agency involved in a sexual assault case.
While in attendance at the SHARP Symposium, leaders learned that an effective response to a sexual assault involves multiple agencies and the success of the response relies upon communication between everyone involved.
Representatives from all the agencies involved in a sexual assault case presented to the leaders what their respective discipline is responsible for during a reported case. Without understanding what roles are played by the different services available, no leader can be truly effective in ensuring that victims are provided for properly.
“SHARP is obviously a message about awareness, prevention, a reporting mechanism and the response to sexual assault,” said Lt. Col. Jacqueline Tubbs, a special victim prosecutor from III Corps. “This conference is about more than that; it’s about all the people that respond to casualties of sexual assault and help them through the process.”
Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood, stated that trust is the foundation of the profession of arms. Sexual assault and harassment breed distrust in units. If leaders do not personally invest their time and effort in ensuring that they maintain good order and discipline in their units, they cannot proactively fight against sexual assault.
“If we can’t address this problem head on as leaders, we really are going to have very difficult time moving forward as an Army,” said MacFarland as part of his opening remarks. “We count on one another in combat; we have to have implicit trust because it’s a matter of life or death.”
“Whenever we disrupt unit integrity we contribute to the issues at hand, and anything we can do to reinforce unit integrity will help mitigate that risk,” MacFarland continued.
He said the way leaders are going to be able to retain their authority to properly pursue justice is by showing that they are good stewards of the authority they have been given and taking care of their subordinates.
The emphasis placed on educating the military on how to identify and prevent sexual assault and harassment has shown results. On Fort Hood alone, reported cases of sexual assault and harassment have increased by eight percent from fiscal year 2013 to 2014; the year before that showed an increase of 51 percent. These are results that speak directly to the increase of trust in the chain of command.
Eleanor Odom, a special victim litigation expert from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, said she was impressed by the increase in the amount of cases that the Army has pursued and taken to court.
“We are all challenged to work as a team to deal with these cases,” said Odom.
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2015 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 153518 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 257 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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