SMA outlines new SHARP campaign

By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs DetachmentMarch 17, 2015

SMA outlines new SHARP campaign
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey signs the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention poster hanging at the SHARP Resource Center during his visit to JBLM, March 2, 2015. Additionally, Dailey met with soldiers to talk about the future of th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey outlined a new way to take on the challenge of sexual harassment and assault prevention during a recent visit to the SHARP Resource Center here.

Dailey wants to enable leaders at the lowest level to take responsibility for the soldiers serving right there in their squad. He proposed a new Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention campaign to the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army based on a "Not in my squad" concept.

"'Not in my squad' means this will not happen in my squad. No one messes with my soldiers. I take care of them every day and regardless of what that means, I'll make sure that they're safe and secure," he said. "If we can get every squad leader to do that, I think we can take care of a little of issues. It's never going to completely go away, but I think the key now that we have all these great programs and resources in places is to empower our junior noncommissioned officers."

Dailey said the new program will build on the accomplishments of an all-volunteer program initiated at the U.S. Military Academy in 2011 called Cadets Against Sexual Harassment and Assault. The "Not in my squad" campaign will encourage junior NCOs to take personally the SHARP program's success.

"It's critically important that we empower those young squad leaders, just like we have in Afghanistan and Iraq, where we put rifles in their hands, and we gave them a mission and told them to bring all our soldiers home," said Dailey. "It's the same level of responsibility we need to ensure they have back here, while making sure they have the knowledge, skills, attributes and the tools to fix these problems."

A side benefit of the campaign will be in continued trust building within the ranks -- what is, in Dailey's opinion, a key component to the success of the Army.

While touring the JBLM resource center, a one-stop servicing location with all relevant agencies collocated for the benefit of the victim and others seeking SHARP-related assistance, Dailey met with the staff and was briefed on the day-to-day operations. He learned that the center had been used more than 500 times last year by local command teams, unit SHARP personnel and those reporting incidents.

He credited the installation with being an example for the rest of the Army and encouraged the leaders to maintain and develop partnerships with the local community, academic centers in particular.

"This the model of what right looks like and your hard work is not going unnoticed. I thank you for not only what you have done but what you must continue to do," Dailey said.