YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea -- Sexual Assault is a serious offense. The Military has zero tolerance for sexual assault. An assault can degrade the abilities of a unit, sow distrust among its members and keep the unit from being able to perform at their best to accomplish the mission.
The Leadership of the Army has made training against sexual assault one of its priorities, and has spent time and money on the I AM Strong Campaign, which encourages Soldiers to Intervene, Act and Monitor against sexual assault. To help this new campaign, the Army has invited 'Sex Signals,' an improvisation/sketch comedy act that concentrates on prevention of sexual assault training to Soldiers across the Army.
Sex Signals made its visit to U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan as a part of its overall South Korean tour at the Yongsan Movie Theater. Jack Reitz and Sharyon Culberson , one of the 'couples' who present the training, held multiple classes to allow the units of Yongsan to rotate through.
The show began with an improvisation skit, taking in suggestions from the audience for what their 'characters' should act like, including pick-up lines. Even though the soldiers in the audience tried to throw the presenters off with random suggestions, they made their way through the first skit without a problem.
The skit then broke down into a discussion over its content, bouncing ideas and reviewing off the soldiers in the audience. This branched out into other topics, which led into a separate skit.
The skits often hit on harder topics like female sexuality, appearances and expectations for both sexes, and how we tend to forgive certain people for their actions. As with each skit, crowd participation was encouraged, and discussions often ran longer than the skits themselves.
After the show, Reitz and Sharyon said that the Yongsan crowd was one of the most receptive audiences they've worked with.
"People here showed a lot of participation," Reitz said concerning the crowd. "There were many questions about the skit's situation, and they made feedbacks after a skit was done. This kind of interactive discussion motivates me and it was a great experience for me."
Sex Signals is separated from other trainings that soldiers usually get because it focuses on real situation and intercommunication.
"I know everyone is tired of PowerPoints," said Culberson. "So, Sex Signals does not take time explaining and teaching what is right and wrong. Instead, it shows the reason why things happen and gives an opportunity for the trainees to think about what they would have done in the same situation."
Related Links:
Installation Management Command
Social Sharing