158th Infantry Brigade hosts SHARP Program Summit

By Capt. Edward BrownDecember 10, 2014

158th Infantry Brigade hosts SHARP Program Summit
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SHARP Program Victim treatment and Care Panel: You are never alone. Pictured from left Sgt. 1st Class Christina Pearson, First Army Division East Sexual Assault Response coordinator, Deborah Plowden, 85th Army Reserve Support Command Sexual Assault R... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
158th Infantry Brigade hosts SHARP Program Summit
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SHARP Summit panel on Education and Prevention to Change a Culture: Sexual assault is everyone's responsibility. Pictured from left: Sgt. 1st. Class Matthew Olsen, 2nd Battalion, 410 Field Artillery's Sexual Assault Response coordinator, Catherine Gr... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
158th Infantry Brigade hosts SHARP Program Summit
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The SARCs: The Sexual Assault Response coordinator (SARC) is considered the center of gravity when it comes to ensuring that victims of sexual assault receive appropriate and responsive care. They serve as the single point of contact to coordinate se... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
158th Infantry Brigade hosts SHARP Program Summit
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
158th Infantry Brigade hosts SHARP Program Summit
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (dec. 10, 2014) -- The 158th Infantry Brigade hosted their annual Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention program (SHARP) summit on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi's Trent Lott National Center.

"I want this summit to help us develop a culture of awareness about sexual assault and harassment and what each of us can do to prevent it," said Col. Paul Kreis, the commander of the 158th Infantry Brigade. "There cannot be mission command without trust."

Kreis referred to the U.S. Army's definition of mission command, wherein leaders are trusted to make sound decisions based on understanding what the commander wants to accomplish and through application of the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

Capt. Rachel Johnson, an operations officer with the 158th Infantry Brigade, planned the three-day event and served as the master of ceremonies.

Johnson wanted to address a particular concern with the SHARP program summit: Local responders such as hospitals, police and patient care facilities needed better connection to and understanding of military processes in regard to reporting and treating sexual assaults. Similarly, military organizations needed better understanding of available support and how best to access that support for victim advocacy and care.

"I wanted to get our community partners in the same room with our brigade and come up with a dialogue of issues that we had within the military and community, share experiences and build a bridge there so that we can help each other" says Johnson.

Guest panel speakers included community representatives from the Hattiesburg Police Department, Petal Police Department, and Forrest General Hospital.

Specially trained Soldiers and civilians called Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs) also attended the summit and provided detailed discussion on Department of the Army regulations governing sexual assault response and prevention.

SARCs from both the 85th and 87th U.S. Army Reserve Support Commands attended the summit.

Sgt. 1st Class Tavara Richardson, 158th Infantry Brigade SARC stated, "One of the objectives was to educate the community and the military on what we offer and what our protocols are. The outside community thought we (158th Infantry Brigade and 177th Combined Arms Training Brigade) were Camp Shelby and didn't realize that we are actually three different entities."

Based on coordination with the 158th Infantry Brigade, and the SHARP summit, some community care providers began immediate specialized training which in turn immediately increased their ability to provide military specific victim care.

"The next steps are to put our ideas into action at all levels, revise our standard operating procedures (SOP) to reflect the input of our community partners, and engage ourselves with new training" said Johnson. "The army is serious about sexual assault and stopping it or even preventing it. I don't think that people outside of the Army realize how seriously we take this."

The Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP) Program reinforces the Army's commitment to eliminating incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault through a comprehensive policy that centers on awareness and prevention, training, and education, victim advocacy, response, reporting and accountability.

Related Links:

Army.mil: North America News

Army.mil: Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention and Response Program