Ideas from soldiers wanting to update the Army’s Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention Program are expected to be implemented across the 18th Airborne Corps.
The SHARP Program outlines procedures for handling sexual harassment and sexual assault claims in the Army.
The topics of sexual harassment and sexual assault became amplified last year following the death and disappearance of Fort Hood, Texas, soldier, Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Guillen was last seen April 22 in a parking lot at Fort Hood. Her dismembered remains were later found buried near a river 20 miles east of Fort Hood. The soldier accused of her killing shot himself to death as investigators were moving in.
As the report Guillen’s slaying was being finalized, then-Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said his preliminary review of the Fort Hood report and media coverage “hardened his belief” that the SHARP Program “hasn’t achieved its mandate to eliminate sexual assaults and sexual harassment by creating a climate that respects the dignity of every member.”
One day after being sworn into office, new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a Jan. 23 directive based on President Joe Biden asking all military branches to pursue solutions to sexual assaults in the military within 90 days.
“We all must do more, and we cannot be afraid to get creative,” Austin said.
Leaders with the 18th Airborne Corps wasted no time.
Earlier this month, soldiers were asked to submit ideas on revising the Army’s SHARP program to the Corps’ Dragon Innovation Program website.
More than 40 ideas were submitted, with seven soldiers selected to present their ideas Monday to the unit’s command team and a panel of sexual assault and sexual harassment experts.
Lt. Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, called the ideas “powerful, imaginative and bold.”
“All seven soldiers were heard and will continue to be heard as we move forward with their concepts,” Kurilla said, thanking the presenters and the other soldiers who submitted ideas for the challenge. “I plan to implement some element from each idea submitted.”
Among Fort Bragg’s three presenters was Staff Sgt. Shameka Dudley, with the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion 525th, Military Intelligence Brigade
Dudley’s idea targets the way the SHARP program is presented.
The current program uses web-based training, PowerPoint, books and pamphlets.
“We need to find methods that work better for soldiers,” Dudley said, noting not everyone learns from a PowerPoint presentation or retains information the same.
Dudley said she thinks virtual-reality scenarios will be more interactive, since she hadn’t seen much group discussion following PowerPoint presentations.
Even with video or web-based information about updates to the policy, she said, someone could become distracted or tune out the information.
Her idea, Dudley explained, would be a supplement to what the Army already has.
She proposed using virtual reality to present scenarios through the eyes of a soldier — such as someone at a unit function who is encountering aggressive behavior.
“I think with virtual reality you really have to pay attention to see what’s going on, instead of having a video you could walk away from or going to the next slide of a presentation,” Dudley said.
Dudley said she thinks it’s important to ensure all soldiers retain information about the important topics of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
“I think the Army trying to find ways to fix a problem is a move in the right direction,” she said. “You need to make sure soldiers are safe. If they don’t feel safe working at home with fellow soldiers, how can they feel safe deploying to another country with the same soldiers? And the focus should be the safety of all soldiers — male or female.”
Similar to Dudley, 2nd Lt. Hannah Alderete proposed updating the way the information is presented to soldiers.
Alderete, with the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade, recently watched the PowerPoint slides while commissioning to the regular Army after four years in ROTC.
“This is such a huge topic that’s very impactful … and the hope is people don’t start becoming desensitized through all the PowerPoint presentations or all the online training systems.”
Topics of sexual harassment and sexual assault shouldn’t be a “check box” type training, she said.
Alderete proposed partnering with the top five film universities in the U.S. for a competition to present a film to soldiers that highlights the harmful implications of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
“They are in tune with this issue as well, because it’s an issue across the country and is not an unfamiliar topic,” she said.
She proposed soldiers be assigned to the film crews, so the crews have an Army perspective.
The crew would make a 30-minute film, and, Alderete said, she thinks a 30-minute leader question and discussion session about the film’s context within the workplace should follow the viewing.
The film could be updated every three years “so training isn’t the same stale, repetitive information,” she explained.
“That way it’ll stay relevant to present-day issues. As things evolve in the Army, so will the videos, to hopefully allow for more meaningful discussions,” she said.
Alderete said her hope is that the film will inspire soldiers to care about the issues and advocate for those impacted.
1st Lt. Alexandra Elison, assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps Headquarters and Headquarters Company, proposed changes to policies within the program.
One of the changes, Elison said, would address the Uniformed Code Military Justice for infractions, including those related to filing a false sexual harassment or sexual assault claim.
As the Fort Hood report stated, one of the issues with the SHARP program is a lack of confidence in reporting, because of “fear of retaliation, ostracism, embarrassment and breach of confidentiality” and concerns about false accusations.
“Soldiers, male and female, frequently shared their belief that the SHARP Program can be weaponized to discredit another soldier, giving examples such as the possibility of filing a false SHARP report against an overbearing superior or a peer with whom a soldier has quarreled,” the report states.
Elison said that in order to regain trust in the program, she thinks the policy should be updated to state that those who file false reports will be punished.
The other changes she proposed are reforms to the Criminal Investigation Division actions and how representatives under the SHARP program are trained or assigned to a victim to include having SHARP representatives from outside a soldier’s unit.
“I don’t think sexual assault and sexual harassment is going to go away with the click of a button,” Elison said. “I think it’s going to take these long conversations and be a long process to fix the problem, but hopefully a few ideas are brought to that bigger conversation and full picture to try to solve the problem.”
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