NORTH FORT HOOD, Texas -- With sexual harassment and assault response and prevention emerging as a hot button issue for the Army, First Army Division West is taking on a pointed approach to training.
Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, Sgt. 1st Class Tammy Potter, with the 479th Field Artillery Brigade, managed a SHARP "inject", or evaluation, of the Army Reserve's 389th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion during its pre-mobilization culminating training event here recently.
An inject is a scenario-driven training event designed to check and evaluate leader response.
"The purpose of a SHARP inject is to help units to practice protecting and caring for victims, to make sure that proper reporting procedures are followed, and to ensure that those that need to know, have the information they need," said Master Sgt. Darla K. Farr, lead SARC for First Army Division West.
It directly affects the readiness of the force, and according to Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, needs to be embraced by leaders at all levels to help eliminate sexual assaults and harassment from our formations.
Farr also said that when setting up an inject, the observer-coach/ trainer's primary focus should be to bring the unit to the self-realization of what was supposed to happen, what did happen, and what they can do to improve.
Potter stressed the importance of conducting injects on all units, but especially those scheduled to deploy.
"SHARP injects are vital to a command team when units are preparing to deploy," said Potter. "Conducting injects like this helps us to ensure units are doing the right thing."
Farr stressed the need to always properly handle SHARP incidents, especially while down range.
"In the heat of battle things happen that often disrupt commands and when complicated with a SHARP incident it is important for units to understand victim care and the steps they need to take to properly handle an incident," said Farr.
"Missing just one step, or simply not following the proper procedures, can easily violate a victim's rights," added Potter.
For Lt. Col. Thomas P. Sullivan, commander of the Fort Totten, New York, and Queens, New York-based 389th CSSB, it is about the command gaining a better understanding of the process.
"Injects help us to better understand the process and the importance of training," said Sullivan. "The 389th has gone above and beyond when it comes to SHARP. We recognize the threat and we've developed policies and training to mitigate it where we can."
For the battalion's victim advocate, and East Meadow, New York, native, Sgt. 1st Class Ismaro Carrasquillo, it's about confidence gained.
"It gave me the confidence I needed to know that I can handle this down range," Carrasquillo said. "It was great information. It also helped us to identify deficiencies in our program that we can work on to make our program stronger, and more efficient."
Although the 389th has exceeded both the required SHARP training hours and qualified its SHARP representatives, Sullivan also stressed the need for the command to show compassion for the victim.
"In the unfortunate event of an incident, we want to be compassionate to the victim. We want to do what we can to prevent future events from occurring and we want justice for the victim," he added.
Maj. Glenn R. Herbert, 389th support operations officer and head victims advocate, says it's also about taking the training home at the end of the duty day.
"Yes we are reservists, but we also take this home with us. We take it beyond the green suit. We need to change the culture, both in and out of uniform, "said Herbert.
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