You cannot move the mountain alone overnight.  The purpose of this essay is to inform about sexual harassment and assault in the Army.  Army Regulation 600-20, chapter 8 requires annual training on Sexual Harassment and Assault Response Program (SHARP).  So, why do cases of sexual harassment and assault continue to take place?  Simply put, tackling the topic of SHARP can feel like moving a mountain.  You can move a mountain if it is broken into smaller, more manageable pieces.  We can begin to move the “mountain” of SHARP issues by addressing contributing factors.  Three contributors of SHARP issues include toxic work environments, behavior patterns, and dated teaching methods.  All missions have a starting point.  Moving this mountain begins with addressing toxic work environments.

Toxic work environments destroy morale, esprit de corps, and mutual respect within the military.  In 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense released a report regarding sexual assaults.  According to the survey in the report, “20,500 instances of unwanted sexual contact” occurred.  However, victims only formally reported 6,053 of the instances.  Throughout all branches, the climate of a unit can determine whether service members feel comfortable reporting.  Say fellow Soldiers make remarks about how “most rape accusations are false” or “for attention”.  This negatively affects a victim’s mental state.  The Army claims to live by the Army Values.  Yet, Soldiers regularly fail to uphold them.  How can we claim to respect others when we do not consider those around us when we speak?  Both behavior at work and outside of work affect SHARP-related issues.

Service members are to uphold the standards both on and off-duty.  In 2017, the Marine Corps investigated 119 individuals regarding the Marines United scandal.  Of those 119, 97 included active Marines.  In light of the scandal, the investigation led to the discovery of multiple other pages involving each military branches.  The scandal shed light on the online behavior of service members toward other service members.  The scandal resulted in major changes within the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  However, many issues within training and policy still exist.

The current training for SHARP involves company all the way up to division level briefings.  According to Rasmussen College, different learning methods heavily contribute to retaining information.  The Army generally only includes aural and visual style teaching.  Implementing kinesthetic or reading and writing teaching styles will positively contribute to the Army’s mission of stopping SHARP-related incidents. Start with smaller work groups.  This provides a more hands-on approach to SHARP training.  Additionally, adding guest speakers such as victims of assault invokes an emotional connection to the topic of SHARP.  While these are minor stones, each contributes to “moving the mountain”.

Each effort made in this ever-evolving world toward eliminating SHARP incidents matters.  Over time with the help of those to our left and right, we can move this mountain.  One case is too many in the Army and if we exert the energy and resources properly, we will make change.  Change starts with small, deliberate actions.  Between adjusting the curriculum, curing toxic work environments, and addressing behavior off-duty, positive changes will occur.  You cannot move a mountain overnight alone.

Subscribe to The Last 100 Yards!

Complete archive of The Last 100 Yards Posts

Back to Home