FORT SILL, Okla. -- Combating sexual assault and harassment in our ranks is a top priority of the Department of Defense, therefore, Soldiers must stay up to date on training to ensure it stops with them.

Finding new, creative and fresh ways to excite Soldiers about this training is something 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery leaders strives to do.

Recently, the battalion held its third annual Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention stand-up training event. The battalion stopped all tactical training for one day to focus solely on educating Soldiers and leaders in the battle against the threat of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military.

The theme of the day was "Army Strong! But How SHARP Are You?" Soldiers from each of the battalion's five batteries competed in multiple events earning points to find out who was the 'SHARP'est unit in the battalion.

"I wanted to conduct the back to basic training because as I walk the footprint and interact with Soldiers, they all have the same questions pertaining to the basic reporting procedures and options," said Sgt. 1st Class Khadijah Mitchell, 3-2nd ADA SHARP representative. "We wanted to get Soldiers comfortable with the basic prevention and intervention procedures and responsibilities."

It began with a physical training session that involved answering questions at multiple stations along a two-mile-run. If unit Soldiers got an answer right, they moved on to the next station. On the other hand, if they got a question wrong, all did a unified exercise.

By the end of the course, the Soldiers had built cohesion within their ranks and incorporated some of their knowledge about SHARP in a fun and competitive way.

The second portion of the stand-up consisted of a series of classes from all of the battery-level SHARP representatives. Soldiers brushed up on reporting procedures, policies and clarification on the differences between harassment and assault. During these sessions open dialogue was allowed to take place about reasons why sexual harassment and assault are not acceptable under any circumstances.

Receiving training directly from battalion SHARP representatives helped the Soldiers become familiar with all of the representatives across the battalion.

The afternoon portion also involved a game of "SHARP Jeopardy" where each unit sent a representative to compete in the mock game show.

Mitchell said all of the Soldiers did an outstanding job answering questions about the reporting procedures, types of sexual harassment, characteristics of a hostile work environment, and the responsibilities of all parties involved in preventing a potential attack from happening.

"It was kind of like being on an actual game show," said Spc Tim Moss, C Battery, 3-2nd ADA. "Everyone was really energetic, I enjoyed the environment; it wasn't your average SHARP training."

Staff Sgt. John Pryor, C /3-2nd ADA also enjoyed the SHARP stand-up training event.

"SHARP representatives dedicated a lot of time and effort in putting it all together. I think it helped everyone pay attention and raised a lot of awareness in reporting procedures and just receiving that basic knowledge and information again in this way was a like a breath of fresh air. I think it was a great idea, and geared toward the Soldier's interests," he said.

The training reminded Soldiers to be part of the solution of changing Army culture toward a safe, positive work environment.

Mitchell said the extra effort to design training programs benefits all in the long run.

"We just to continue finding innovative ways to bring the awareness and prevention tools to the Soldiers without using the PowerPoint class. We have found that this is working, and Soldiers are responding well in regards to retaining the material taught and tools used," he said.