FORT BUCHANAN, Puerto Rico - The senior U.S. Army officer in the Caribbean at the federal level, Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernandez, highlighted the efforts from his command to prevent sexual violence in the ranks of the military organization, as several units through the command are immersed in sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention training July 13.
"Sexual harassment and sexual assault are inconsistent with Army values and we will not tolerate it. At the national and local level, we are aggressively and proactively facing this situation, focusing in education and training to all our troops," said Fernandez.
According to Fernandez, the internal U.S. Army process dictates that once a sexual violence situation is reported, the efforts of the command will focus on helping the victims and on initiating the proper investigation to hold people accountable.
"Through the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program and the Intervene, Act, and Motivate (IAM) campaign, the U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico shows its serious commitment to prevent and eradicate the sexual offenses from our ranks," added the Army Reserve officer, who commands thousands of troops throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
However, the Army Reserve goes beyond educating the troops.
"In the U.S. Army, we constantly evaluate the effectiveness of our measures through anonymous surveys. In addition, we promote the open dialog and communication among soldiers at all levels, to facilitate the prevention sexual assault and sexual harassment," added Fernandez.
Findings from the Department of Defense FY12 Annual Report on Sexual Assault, the Department of Defense Workplace & Gender Relations Surveys, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's national sexual violence survey illustrate the gravity of the problem in the military, as well as in civilian society.
"Even when we have not received any reports of sexual violence cases that have happened in our command, I encourage all our troops to report any incident of sexual violence and to work hard to reduce the stigma of reporting, if a case takes place in our command," added Fernandez.
The Army aggressively indoctrinates new recruits and first-term soldiers by providing critical training within the first 14 days of combat training and supporting soldiers who self-disclose a pre-service history. It also provides SHARP training in all institutional leadership courses for officers and NCOs, including pre-command courses.
"My message is very clear to all the members of the command. We are committed with the safety and well-being of all the members of this organization. Every reported case of sexual violence will be properly investigated in a professional way. Sexual violence has no room in this command," stated firmly Fernandez.
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