SAN ANTONIO – Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard senior leaders, service members and civilians gathered at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston for a proclamation signing ceremony April 5 to kick off Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) in San Antonio, Texas.
Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, commander, Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics Command (NMETLC), gave the opening remarks and signed the proclamation as the Navy’s senior officer in Texas.
“Thank you for allowing me to express my personal commitment to ending the violence and hurt caused by sexual assault,” said McCormick-Boyle. “Hurt one, affect all. What a powerful statement. And it’s very true.”
The ceremony is held annually to allow leadership to gather and proclaim their dedication to eradicate sexual assault and raise awareness.
“Sadly, we’ve not eradicated sexual assault over the past year,” said McCormick-Boyle, who also signed the annual proclamation in 2016. “Once again, the ribbons are up, and there are some people who drive around and say, ‘I wonder what those teal-colored ribbons are all about.’”
According to McCormick-Boyle, raising awareness and encouraging bystander intervention is the only way to successfully eradicate sexual assault from the work and personal lives of service members and civilians.
“If you see something, step in, intervene,” she said. “Intervention. It’s an active word. Intervention takes courage. It takes boldness. Go there. And after you intervene, lend a hand and aid as it comes to recovery. Remember. Victims are our shipmates, battle buddies, our wingmen. You, me, all of us; we owe it to them to do our part.”
The joint ceremony included closing remarks from Air Force Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, commander, Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), who discussed the importance of looking out for everyone, even those outside of your service, as well as JBSA’s own theme for the month, “Unafraid.”
“If you’re at JBSA, it’s all about being joint,” said Pringle. “It’s about taking care of each other, doing what’s right, and being unafraid.”
Pringle also touched on the Department of Defense theme for the month,
“Protecting Our People Protects Our Mission,” while reminding everyone that the fight against sexual assault is not a one-month thing but must be practiced year-round.
“If you’re here today, let’s bring one more person to the next one and just build this momentum,” she said. “And don’t just stop in April. It’s not just April when we need to protect our people and protect the mission.”