About a dozen Sexual Harassment Assault Response & Prevention advocates from U.S. Army Cadet Command gathered to attend a three-day training conference at Fort Knox Feb. 26-28 to gain a greater understanding of the Army's push toward prevention.
Command Sgt. Maj. Mario Terenas, senior enlisted advisor at the unit, opened the conference Feb. 26 with some advice and encouragement.
"Thank you for what you do for being part of this program and for what you bring to Cadet Command and honestly, our fight to eradicate sexual assault across our force," said Terenas.
Terenas said the biggest issue he wanted them to understand and work through going forward is the Title IX policy, which he called a complicated system. Title IX pertains to the laws that govern Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets.
Another issue he addressed is providing combatives training to civilian employees in an effort to arm employees with skills necessary to protect themselves in the event of a sexual assault attempt.
Terenas said on average, 10 percent of any organization has employees that have the propensity to be an assaulter.
Teresa Bolton, coordinator for Soldier and Family Support at Cadet Command's G1 office, said the combatives idea is just one way the command's leaders are taking prevention serious.
"The Army is beginning to focus on prevention more than advocacy," said Bolton. "Prevention starts even before you get out of the car."
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