Page 26 - Desert Lightning News 5-6-16

26 May 6, 2016 Desert Lightning News

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Carter announces sexual assault retaliation prevention strategy

Lisa Ferdinando DoD News mains to be done to eliminate this over- an attack on those values, so too are acts help those who want to come forward
all scourge of sexual assault from our of retaliation against those who report and report a crime, she said.
Defense Media Activity military, today we’re taking an impor- these crimes,” he said.
tant step with the release of this strat- Retaliation is a symptom of a poor
WASHINGTON — Defense Sec- egy,” he added. Improved Systems to Stream- command climate or a lack of profes-
retary Ash Carter announced today line Reporting sionalism, she said.
a sexual assault retaliation prevention Strategy Upholds Commitment
and response strategy, saying both sex- to Survivors The Defense Digital Service is com- “When you have retaliation tolerated
ual assault and retaliation against those bining forces with the DoD SAPR Of- in a command climate that also coexists
who report it are attacks against the val- Army Maj. Gen. Camille Nichols, fice to launch a project to improve the with the risk of sexual assault,” Greene-
ues of the military. the director of the SAPR Office, called systems that underlie the reporting da- Sands said.
the policy an important step forward. tabases, Carter announced.
“Wherever sexual assault occurs -- Survivors or witnesses can report
whether it’s on the front lines or here “Supporting those who make the dif- “This will allow for more stream- retaliation to their chain of command,
at home -- it not only undermines our ficult decision to report sexual assault lined, timely and accurate reporting,” or to a sexual assault response coordi-
values, it undercuts our ability to ex- or harassment not only upholds our he said, noting it will reduce the burden nator or other appropriate personnel,
ecute our mission, which is to protect commitment to them, but also influ- on sexual assault response coordina- she said. They can also anonymously
our people and make a better world for ences others who may be considering tors and investigators, allowing them to report retaliation atsafehelpline.org,
our children,” Carter said at a Pentagon whether to make a report,” she said in spend more time with survivors. which will report the incident directly
ceremony today. the statement. to the SAPR Office.
According to Carter, the project will
According to a statement released She said service members report- help the department understand sexual “At the end of the day, if these things
today by the DoD’s Sexual Assault Pre- ing sexual assault or sexual harass- assault data in a more meaningful way. are happening, then we have a readi-
vention and Response Office, the strat- ment should be able to do so without That, he said, will ultimately lead to ness issue. We’re not going to be able
egy includes standardizing the defi- the fear of retaliation by their peers greater transparency with advocates to respond to missions in the way that
nitions of retaliation; improving data or leadership. and others. we’re supposed to,” she said.
collection and analysis; building strong
and supportive systems of investigation “Reporting the crime is the only way Eliminating Retaliation, Remov- The DoD conducted several data
and accountability; providing compre- offenders can be identified and held ap- ing Barriers gathering efforts to capture sexual as-
hensive support to reporters; and creat- propriately accountable,” Nichols said. sault victim experience with retaliatory
ing a culture intolerant of retaliation. It Allison Greene-Sands, deputy chief behavior in 2012 and 2014. Surveys in-
also extends to first responders, includ- The new strategy provides a frame- of staff of the SAPR Office, said the de- dicated that well over half of military
ing sexual assault response coordina- work for strengthening support for partment took action because it is so women who experienced a sexual as-
tors, and witnesses of sexual assault/ those who experience retaliation in egregious that a sexual assault survivor sault and reported it to a DoD authority
harassment or retaliation. connection with reporting sexual as- would face retaliation in addition to the perceived some kind of retaliation. In
sault or harassment and for clarifying trauma the person already suffered. May 2015, Carter directed the develop-
The strategy aims to improve how the retaliation response process, Carter ment of a departmentwide strategy to
the department supports service mem- said at the ceremony. “The fear of retaliation can be address retaliation.
bers who experience retaliation, while a barrier to reporting any crime,”
aligning prevention and response ef- The Defense Department must do Greene-Sands said, in an interview The DoD SAPR Office can be found
forts across the services, Carter said. everything it can to provide the proper with DoD News. at SAPR.mil. The DoD Safe Helpline,
protections and support for those who safehelpline.org, can be reached 24/7,
“While there is much work that re- come forward, he added. “Honor and The Defense Department learned toll-free, at 877-995-5247.
trust are the lifeblood of the profession from best practices in industry and the
of military arms. Every sexual assault is corporate world that removing barriers
and having increased protections will

Pentagon spokesman: Up to 250 more U.S. forces

to deploy to Syria has been critical as local forces drive ISIL out of key areas.
Important connections
Lisa Ferdinando The 50 special operators have improved the picture of the battlefield

DoD News, Defense Media Activity and made important connections with local, capable forces, Cook said,
and they have enhanced the military’s targeting efforts in Syria.
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Up to 250 additional U.S. personnel are
being deployed to Syria to support local forces on the ground and build The extra personnel will be establishing connections with capable forc-
on successes of U.S. forces already deployed there in the fight against es on the ground, working on getting a better picture of the battlespace,
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Pentagon’s press secretary and improving the intelligence and targeting assessment, Cook said.
said April 25.
“They will help our partners on the ground capitalize on their progress
The additional personnel include special operations forces and medi- and increase the pressure on ISIL at this critical time,” Cook said, add-
cal and logistics personnel, Peter Cook told reporters at the Pentagon. ing Defense Secretary Ash Carter believes this deployment will make a
The forces are to build on the gains of 50 previously deployed special “tangible” difference in the campaign to defeat ISIL.
operators in Syria, he said.
The intent is not to have the forces on the front lines or engaged in
During a speech in Germany on the same day, President Barack direct combat, Cook said. Rather, he explained, they will be enabling and
Obama announced the deployment of the additional forces. He said the supporting local forces who have made gains against ISIL, and meeting
expertise of the special operations forces already on the ground in Syria with other capable forces to build on the momentum.

The spokesman added the U.S. forces will be in harm’s way and will be
able to defend themselves if they come under fire.