NAS Pensacola Fleet and Family Support Center Hosts Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month Proclamation Signing

Photo By Michael F OConnor | PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Timothy Kinsella Jr. looks on while NAS Pensacola Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) Lillie Johnson affixes a teal ribbon to the NAS Pensacola Headquarters Building flagpole during the air station's Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) Proclamation signing ceremony April 1. During the brief ceremony, commanding officers from organizations onboard NAS Pensacola and surrounding areas gathered to sign proclamations reaffirming their command's engagement toward ending sexual assualt.  

PENSACOLA, FL, UNITED STATES

04.01.2019

Story by Bruce Cummins 

Naval Air Station Pensacola

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola commanding officer joined other NAS Pensacola commanding officers in signing a Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) proclamation April 1 onboard the air station.
The ceremony included NAS Pensacola-area military leadership signing proclamations for display in each command and Kinsella tying a teal ribbon – the Department of Defense’s (DoD) symbol for Sexual Assault Awareness and Response (SAPR) – around the air station’s flagpole.
Kinsella opened the brief ceremony with remarks, stressing the importance of the occasion to the attending commanding officers, service members and civilians.
“Having all the senior leadership here on the base is an indication on how important [Sexual Assault Prevention and Response] is to us as leaders and members of the United States Armed Forces,” he said. “We all have a solemn and inherent duty to protect the people that work with us and for us, because when it comes down to it, we are a family. We can only defeat sexual assault by looking out for each other every day.”
The Department of Defense (DoD)-established theme of “Protecting Our People Protects Our Mission,” a concept designed to promote solidarity within the U.S. Armed Forces, is underscored by the Navy’s “Make the Commitment” call to action, encouraging service members to commit to promoting a culture intolerant of sexual assault.
The event coincided with other Commander, Navy Region Southeast (CNRSE) bases holding similar ceremonies, according to NAS Pensacola Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) Lillie Johnson, who emphasized the 2019 This year’s DoD theme is “Protecting our people protects our mission. Make a commitment.”
“It’s so important for us to make the commitment to focus on prevention to stop the culture of sexual assault in the military,” she said. “Having all the area commanding officers present shows the unity on NAS Pensacola.”
NAS Pensacola has supported SAAPM with a variety of events during April, including information tables at highly trafficked areas and Teal Tuesdays when civilian personnel onboard NAS Pensacola are encouraged to wear teal each Tuesday in April to help spread awareness.
SAAPM events scheduled this year including a Naval Hospital (NH) Pensacola and Center for Information Warfare Training (CWIT) 5K at NAS Pensacola Corry Station April 5; a “Chalk the Walk” interactive art displays at locations onboard NAS Pensacola April 12; the Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC)-sponsored Amazing SAPR (Sexual Assault Prevention and Response) Race April 26; and multiple showings of the Just Joking edutainment event by Pure Praxis.
Johnson added that in addition to the devastating impact on an individual, a sexual assault can severely impact a unit's readiness to perform its mission. She also said that sexual assault is defined as intentional sexual contact characterized by use of force, threats, intimidation, abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent, and can occur without regard to gender or spousal relationship or age of victim.
Victims of sexual assault have two reporting options -- unrestricted and restricted. Unrestricted cases are reported through the chain of command, while restricted reports are made confidentially and allow victims to get help without reporting it through their chain of command or law enforcement.
Anyone in immediate danger should call 911. To report a sexual assault, call the toll-free DoD Safe Helpline at [phone], the Naval Air Station Pensacola Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) at 452-5109/9017 or your command SAPR victim advocate. Johnson added that more information is available on the official Navy website on SAAPM: http://www.sapr.mil/index.php/saapm.
NAS Pensacola, referred to as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation," is designed to support operational and training missions of tenant commands, including Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT), Marine Aviation Training Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23 and is the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC).

• Date Taken: 04.01.2019
• Date Posted: 04.02.2019 15:02
• Story ID: 316669
• Location: PENSACOLA, FL, US