National Discussion 2023 at West Point focuses on solutions, prevention

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The National Discussion 2023 gathered military leaders, educators and prevention experts at West Point to share research and best practices in creating safe and healthy learning environments on Oct. 24. Secretary of the Army Christine E. Wormuth hosted the annual conference, which since 2019 has rotated among the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Under the theme “Empowering Student Communities to Cultivate Healthy Climates,” the event offered a dynamic series of panel discussions to both in-person and virtual participants.

The sessions focused on nurturing safer, more respectful collegiate environments, setting a course toward eradicating sexual assault and harassment from higher education nationwide. In addition to military and civilian leaders from Army, Navy and Air Force, the conference included Ramapo College, Fordham University, Texas Tech University and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland opened the event by affirming that all academic institutions, whether a service academy or civilian school, share a common mission: “educating, training and inspiring leaders of character preparing for a career of professional excellence.”

“We’re here today because of shared challenges — notably, the shared challenge of combating sexual assault and harassment at our respective institutions,” Gilland said. “To that end, we have the shared obligation to cultivate healthy environments built on trust, dignity and respect, where everyone feels safe, both physically and emotionally.

“No one of us can solve this on their own,” he added. “Today’s dialogue — this national discussion — is an opportunity to collaborate and share best practices to find those shared solutions to prevent harmful behaviors in our respective communities.”

Gilland then introduced Secretary Wormuth, who addressed the crucial importance of tackling sexual assault and harassment, as they pose significant obstacles to the armed forces mission of safeguarding the nation.

Wormuth further emphasized a collaborative approach that transcends institutional boundaries, underscoring the gravity of the issue at hand and the collective responsibility to effect lasting change.

“The impacts of sexual harassment and assault in particular within our armed forces have the potential to erode our ability to defend the nation and should rightly be treated as a significant problem we need to address,” Wormuth said. “I hope that the collaborative nature of this forum will help us gain a better understanding of the problem and yield some new ideas about what we can do as institutions, as leaders and as individuals to combat harmful sexual behaviors.”

“For the experts here, I look forward to hearing more about the research that you’ve conducted on college campuses, and how it may help our military service academies,” she added. “I would ask that you also consider ways that we might scale up your recommendations to apply to the rest of the Army and other services.”

Throughout the day, Wormuth met privately with small groups of cadets for candid conversations about their experiences with Army prevention programs.

The National Discussion continued with a keynote fireside chat and three panel discussions with experts from various disciplines. Each panel examined critical issues related to sexual assault, exploring preventative measures and strategies for enhancing initiatives while preserving a healthy educational environment.

The keynote fireside chat featured Jennifer Hirsch and Shamus Kahn, discussing their book, titled “Sexual Citizens,” an ethnographic study regarding sexual violence on college campuses. Informed by detailed survivor accounts, the pair recounted their work examining key factors associated with sexual violence, including social, contextual and institutional risk and protective factors.

While the conference’s intended audience was military leaders and college educators and administrators, a student panel of military and civilian student prevention leaders afforded critical perspectives. The discussion spanned a range of topics, from updating policy, teaching comprehensive sex education to organizing nationwide initiatives aimed at aiding survivors in their healing process.

“Sex education is one of those things that seems like an obvious direction at this point,” said a Naval Academy midshipman first class. “It’s one thing to implement policies, but it’s another thing to start a cultural trend that goes beyond just words on paper.”

Panel members also discussed the positive effects higher educators have had in prevention by coordinating informal general discussions and routinely gauging the welfare of students, among other things.

“What our higher educators are doing very well is that (sexual assault prevention) is now a topic. This is something that is brought up in a lot of our briefs and in a lot of our general conversations,” said an Air Force Academy cadet first class. “I could see someone I know, and (prevention) could get brought up in a conversation. The fact that we're constantly talking about this has been a huge push in the right direction.”

As the event concluded, Gilland offered his parting words, underlining the collective effort required to address sexual assault and prevention effectively.

He stressed the importance of unity and collaboration from all teams, emphasizing that it is the combined strength of the entire community that ensures the safety of students, cadets and midshipmen.

“As I stated this morning, sexual assault and sexual harassment are a shared challenge, and we have a shared commitment to combatting them, along with other harmful behaviors. It’s a challenge that requires shared solutions, and I hope today’s dialogue moved us closer to some shared solutions,” Gilland said. “Again, this takes a village — all of us — and all our respective teams — continuing to collaborate and work together as one village to create the safe and healthy climates our students, cadets and midshipmen need to grow and thrive, and become empowered and resilient leaders who will affect change among their peers.

“As we wrap things up today, my challenge to all of us is to keep the dialogue going,” he concluded. “Let’s continue to look for ways to work together, share best practices with each other, and continue to find shared solutions to help all of us in our shared endeavor to develop our nation’s future leaders.”