Pvt. Cynthia Gaeta, recent Basic Combat Training graduate from C Battery, 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery, at Fort Sill, Okla., has helped many who have been sexually assaulted transform from victim to survivor. She was a sexual assault crisis in...

FORT SILL, Okla. June 19, 2014 -- Pvt. Cynthia Gaeta recently graduated Basic Combat Training here in C Battery, 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery, but she already knows she wants to be a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention representative.

"Before I came into the Army I heard, I'm sure we all did, a lot of terrible things of what happens here and how women are treated. I was pleasantly surprised by the SHARP program it was our very first class here," said Gaeta.

Before joining, she volunteered as a sexual assault crisis intervention counselor for Project Sister in Pomona, Calif.

"My sister actually started volunteering before me so when I turned 18, I decided to do it as well just because of what she would talk about," said Gaeta.

She wrote home to her sister to tell her how the Army was changing its social environment by letting Soldiers know on Day One, sexual harassment and assault are not accepted.

She said even in her time in BCTthere was an incident where a Soldier made another Soldier feel uncomfortable by what they said and a drill sergeant handled it immediately.

"It's just nice to know it's an issue that's being taken seriously now and that they're making an effort to try to prevent it from happening," said Gaeta.

Her experience prior to the Army involved taking phone calls from a sexual assault hotline for a minimum of 18 hours a month and usually more.

Gaeta said the center was always understaffed because of the brutality the work showed and the toll it took on a person just witnessing the aftermath of an assault.

"When a call came in it was one of two things. It was either someone on the phone wanting to talk to somebody, a friend of a victim, or a victim themselves, or a police officer notifying us that there had been a victim of sexual assault and that they were en route to the hospital so for us to get our things and head over there," said Gaeta.

She said each counselor would bring a bag with soap, shampoo, conditioner and an extra set of clothes so the person could change out of what they were wearing when they were attacked.

Although she was a stranger to the victim she was there to provide moral support.

"When you think about it the nurse is there to get all the evidence to make sure they are physically OK. The officer's primary job is to get the report and the list of events of what happened and family and friends aren't usually the best to be around because they are also traumatized from what happened."

"So we hold their hand, and then after that if they wanted us to go with them to their court date we could do that as well."

She said before the first time she helped a victim she went through 60 hours of training and scenarios.

"At first it's really surreal, and it takes a while for you to develop that extra layer of skin. I know my sister cried the first couple of times she did it. I cried the first couple of times I did it. Nothing can really prepare you for showing up at the hospital and looking that victim in the eye."

Gaeta helped many go through the process of being a victim to becoming a survivor.

"Coming to terms with it is the hardest part. It's one of those crimes that everybody thinks it can't happen to me, it can't happen to me because you always think about it happening to somebody else. So accepting is always the first step and then seeking help.

Gaeta is now in Advanced Individual Training to be a cryptological linguist. She is proud to serve her country and wants to use her experience to further the Army's mission of creating a social environment that is intolerant of sexual harassment and assault in its ranks.