FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Team Jackson, let me be clear, the Army has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and sexual assault, and so do I.

In 2011, the Army reported 1,695 cases of sexual harassment and assault. Just above half of these reported incidents involved service members assaulting fellow service members. What's worse is that we can only speculate the number of cases that went unreported.

This type of behavior is contrary to the values of our Army profession. It contaminates the trust that Soldiers have with their seniors, peers and subordinates. Furthermore, it fractures the relationships we have with the civilian populace who entrust us with their sons and daughters.

I view sexual harassment and assault as an enemy threat, and just as we do with other threats, the Army is placing a continued emphasis toward eliminating it. All of us have a shared role in ridding our ranks of this cancerous conduct.

Since 2008, the Army has been engaged in direct combat against this foe through the Sexual Harassment and Assault Response/Prevention Program (SHARP), and the I. A.M. Strong(Intervene, Act, Motivate) campaign. The first phase was introduced with educating leadership about the issues and securing commitment from those at the top. The second phase involved instilling confidence and passion into every Soldier, Civilian and Family member to fight against sexual assault and harassment. Phase Three focused on a cultural change that set a standard that put our zerotolerance policy into full effect. Phase Four continues the process of sustainment, refinement and sharing of lessons learned from this strategy so that we may potentially eradicate sexual harassment and assault.

Although prevention plans such as SHARP and I. A.M. Strong campaign are also designed to defuse high-risk situations, we can do more.

At Fort Jackson we are doing what we can to make our places of work and leisure activities less susceptible to sexual harassment and assault. We conduct regular discussions with leaders across the installation to make sure we are all aware of the threats that exist in our AOR and to our flanks. We also have begun the work to emplace lights and security cameras in order to assist our MPs and DA Police with coverage of training and cantonment areas.

Although we are in the last stage of a four-stage plan to eliminate sexual violence, we know that there is still a lot of work to be done.

It is imperative that we continue to educate our Soldiers and family members on reporting procedures and options. Bottom line, as leaders, we are required by regulation to report all allegations of harassment and assault involving our Soldiers. We owe it to the victims to make sure their cases are being properly handled as expeditiously as possible.

In the unfortunate case of someone becoming a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault, we have a variety of community services to help him or her. The services include Stress and Anger Management, Victim Advocacy, Social Work Services, and Family Life Chaplain Services. Reporting options are also available for those who have been victimized, to include the right to seek services confidentially.

Ending these types of offenses and crimes needs to be a collective effort. We must remember our goal as an Army Family is to provide a quality of life for Soldiers, Civilians, and Families that exemplifies our Army values and exudes what Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin Benson calls the three P's: Professionalism, Passion, and Pride.

If you are seeking help, please contact your unit victim advocate. If you do not know him or her, then you can reach the Army Family Advocate Center at 751-6325 or the Chaplains Family Life Center at 751-4542.

Let's all do our part in defeating this enemy that threatens our time-honored profession.

Army Strong and SHARP Starts Here!

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