Photo By Maj. Alun Thomas | Sgt. 1st Class Kristina Smith (left), division victim advocate and trainer for...... read more read more
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FORT MCCOY, Wis. - Soldiers from throughout the country are joining together to become trained representatives in the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention training course, March 23-April 2, at the 88th Reserve Support Command headquarters.
The 80 hour course is intended to teach Soldiers how to react to sexual assault and harassment claims in order to quell further incidents, in an ongoing effort by the Army to eliminate instances of sexual assault within its ranks.
Approximately 32 Soldiers are attending the training, with those participating attached to active duty, U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard units.
Leading the training is Sgt. 1st Class Kristina Smith, division victim advocate and trainer for Headquarters Support Company, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, who said she takes pride in reinforcing the Army’s vision in reducing sexual assault through the SHARP training.
“The purpose of this course is to train victim advocates, company managers and program managers. It’s the initial certification course for all SHARP representatives,” said Smith. “They’re learning boots on the ground from the beginning on how to assist survivors of sexual assault on their path to recovery.”
“They’re also learning paper work, basic reporting procedures … everything they need to be successful in their new jobs as SHARP reps,” Smith continued.
Smith said there are various training scenarios built into the module, all of which test the future advocates how to react in the event of a sexual assault or complaint.
“There’s a lot of discussion about the history of victim advocacy in this country, where we came from and the way forward,” she said. “This leads to intervention techniques, prevention and unit training scenarios … anything you can think of is built into the 80 hour course.”
Smith said after serving 19 years in the Army, the reaction to issues such as sexual assault and harassment has improved significantly since she joined, with the SHARP training playing a vital role.
“Our response to this crisis has definitely gotten faster and also how we support survivors,” said Smith. “Once upon a time it wasn’t acceptable or OK for a survivor to come out and say they’d been victimized. But we’re now moving forward into a time in the Army where they’re supported.”
“That’s our end state goal; to support survivors of sexual assault,” she said.
Assisting Smith with the training is Terrence Jackson, SHARP training instructor for the 4th Infantry Division, who said he has seen the program grow positively during his 22 years as a Soldier and now civilian trainer.
“The program has taken shape to where we now have a dedicated program for sexual assault,” Jackson said. “It’s very important because we hear all the time how sexual assault and harassment are on the rise, but Soldiers will report incidents more now than they would have in previous decades.”
Jackson said he has traveled to installations all over the world teaching the SHARP course, something he takes tremendous satisfaction in.
“I have a vested interest in this topic because at college I had several friends and colleagues who were sexually assaulted,’ said Jackson. “It’s important to me to teach these Soldiers how we can prevent similar incidents.”
Jackson praised the Soldiers going through the course for their willingness to learn and take the subject matter seriously.
“These Soldiers know we have a serious issue and a lot of them are taking ownership and trying to fix it,” he said. “This lets me know the program is in good hands.”
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2015 12:46 |
| Story ID: | 158344 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 206 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 88th RSC hosts SHARP training course, by MAJ Alun Thomas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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