Focused SHARP training for leaders to end retaliation

Photo By Staff Sgt. Sebastian Rothwyn | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Zalika Ajamu, with the 369th Sustainment Brigade leads the discussion during a SHARP briefing on North Fort Hood, Texas, Sept. 25, 2022. Leaders discussed key points of SHARP such as reprisal, which consists of withholding of favorable actions against personnel or imposing negative actions against them; and failure-to-act, which includes insufficient reporting of offenses or not reporting at all. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Sebastian Rothwyn)  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

09.29.2022

Story by Spc. Ryan Scribner 

369th Sustainment Brigade

FORT HOOD, TX – One hundred and thirty-four leaders with the 369th Sustainment Brigade, New York Army National Guard, completed Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention, or SHARP, training about retaliation and its effects, Sept. 25, 2022 here.

With the movement to theater in Kuwait, the 369th SB transitions from the National Guard Bureau’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, or SAPR, program to the active duty Army’s SHARP.

Leaders discussed key points of SHARP such as reprisal, which consists of withholding of favorable actions against personnel or imposing negative actions against them; and failure-to-act, which includes insufficient reporting of offenses or not reporting at all.

“Do what’s right,” said Col. Seth Morgulas, commander of the 369th SB. “Leaders need to take care of the victim and if the issue is not SHARP-related, you take care of whatever the issue is that is bothering your Soldier.”

The steps a commander must take when made aware of sexual assault are notifying law enforcement, notifying the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC), notifying legal, notifying the victim and making clear to them that they still have the option to file a restricted report and then submit a Sexual Assault Incident Response Oversight, or SAIRO, report to the battalion commander.

A restricted report is an option for Soldiers to confidentially disclose the SHARP offense to specifically identified individuals. An unrestricted report is an option where a formal investigation will occur.

Sgt. 1st Class Zalika Ajamu, the 369th SB’s SARC said that the biggest hurdle in the Army, and the military as a whole, is getting people to report sexual harassment and sexual assault. For this reason, the SHARP program makes it the responsibility of leaders to support a Soldier’s welfare, she said.

Additionally, the SHARP program is making it easier for Soldiers to navigate their own experiences of harassment and assault on their own terms with increased eligibility for restricted reporting, Ajamu said.

First Sgt. Rebecca Santana, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company 369th SB first sergeant said that even when a case is unrestricted many of the specific details remain unknown to leaders, but when a Soldier chooses to confide in their leader and tell them what is bothering them, a leader must honor that trust and not retaliate.

“SHARP offenses are not tolerated,” Santana said. “Because, at the end of the day, you need to be able to look to the person to your left and your right and know that they have your back.”

• Date Taken: 09.29.2022
• Date Posted: 10.15.2022 12:14
• Story ID: 431399
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US