ANDERSEN AFB, Guam - "Not here, not now, not ever!" were the words said by Task Force Talon personnel as they signed a pledge photo board to show their commitment to ending sexual assault and harassment in the military. Task Force Talon hosted the first annual sexual harassment/assault response prevention awareness week on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
The SHARP awareness week began on Monday April 27 with a 5k SHARP awareness run on Andersen AFB. The run drew over 300 Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Sailors who received a SHARP awareness briefing from the task force commander, Lt. Col. Jefferey Slown, before beginning the run.
"This was an event focused on helping to raise awareness on the importance of SHARP and how we need to make sure that we do not allow it to happen in the task force or on Andersen AFB," said Slown.
At key points of the run Task Force Talon Soldiers held signs showing various SHARP related statistics to the runners to emphasize how much more work needs to be done to end sexual assault in the military. At the finish line SHARP related items and information was distributed to the runners by the task force's run organizer, 1st Lt. Brett Holtzman.
"This was a great event to help organize because of the support we received from the joint community here on Andersen AFB, who are likewise committed to ending sexual assault in the military," said Holtzman.
Other events during the week included a week long cycle of SHARP, equal opportunity, and suicide prevention training provided by trainers from the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Hawaii.
"An incident of sexual assault or harassment can really divide a unit and that is why it is important that we change the culture in the military to where this behavior is not tolerated," said Master Sgt. Anthony Wyatt, the 94th AAMDC Sexual Assault Response Coordinator.
The Task Force also executed its SHARP Soldier of the Quarter Board which was won by Spc. Brittany Collins from Delta Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery.
"The SHARP Soldier of the Quarter Board was a great opportunity for me and the other Soldiers to reinforce the standards and values needed to establish a climate that does not condone sexual assault or harassment in the military," said Collins.
The week concluded with an award ceremony that recognized the SHARP Soldier of the Quarter, the winner of the SHARP t-shirt contest, and the top 5k runners. The award ceremony also included a presentation from Dr. Julie Ulloa-Heath who operates the local charity, Victim Advocates Reaching Out (VARO), which provides safe places for victims of domestic violence to stay. Task Force Talon Soldiers donated a multitude of items to the VARO charity, which the representatives will be able to use to help victims of domestic violence.
"The task force is honored to reach out to an organization within the community that is fighting the same fight we are," said Captain Amanda Rowse the Task Force Talon Operations Officer who was the lead organizer for the SHARP Awareness Week.
The task force concluded the week by signing a pledge photo board that will be posted in the Task Force Headquarters as a reminder of how SHARP awareness cannot be just a week-long focus, but instead something that has to become part of Army culture to create the change needed to end sexual assault in the military.
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