Joint Base Lewis-McChord kicked off Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month at the Carey Theater with an educational performance featuring Janine DiVita, a Broadway actress, and several JBLM Soldiers April 1, 2016.
The performance aligned the Army’s core values with personal responsibility, lessons in situational improvisation, character development and bystander intervention. Additionally, the performance strengthened awareness and ways to end harassment and assault as part of the “Not in my squad, not in my Army” Sexual Harassment Assault Response Prevention campaign.
“In situations with sexual assault and sexual harassment and preventing those acts you have to act,” said DiVita. “What I’m trying to focus on with this (production) is bystander intervention; to actually stand up, take charge and take responsibility, and to act. That’s my mission.”
During a bar scene, there were several opportunities for a number of the actors to step in and intervene, but no one did.
One of DiVita’s lead actors for the play, the assailant, Spc. Corey Seay, a nutrition care specialist with the 47th Combat Support Hospital, 62nd Medical Brigade, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, said it was difficult playing “the bad guy” but he wanted to portray Aaron, “the party guy” as Seay called him, to the best of his ability.
“A lot of times the message is watered down and after talking with Janine she said, ‘I want you to “play” this character. Put on a show,’ said Seay, the East Hampton, Connecticut native. “It was challenging, but I was just playing a role.”
“People need to see that there are things that can be done and sexual harassment should not be in our Army”, said Seay. “There are more than enough people to look out for one another.”
Leadership does not require rank or position. Any service member can and should take action to lead their peers and set an example for compassionate and professional support for victims of sexual assault.
Seay, a former president of the junior enlisted SHARP counsel, felt it was important that people see the messages about sexual harassment and assault prevention and not just in the month of April.
“If you know something is going wrong, don’t just stand on the side, say something,” said Seay.
Junior enlisted Soldiers are not the only ones who know how important it is to deal with the subject at hand, as the most senior noncommissioned officer stationed at JBLM weighed in on the issue.
“It’s time to stop pointing the finger at ‘them’ as the status quo when bad things happen. We are either the solution, or part of the problem,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Grinston, senior enlisted leader, I Corps. “We must be the committed professionals that America expects us to be by taking control of the situation and enforcing discipline.”
Grinston acknowledged the great work everyone was doing this month to combat sexual harassment and sexual assault, but said there’s still more to be done. Every Soldier, NCO and officer must make a commitment to face this head-on, year round, and without reservation.
“The stakes are high, but I believe we can win this. It’s time for us to take back our Army, and one way to start is to stand with me in April, and keep standing until we stamp out sexual harassment and assault for good,” said Grinston. “We must all have the courage to say, “Not in my Squad. Not in our Army.”