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WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 23, 2009) - Secretary
of the Army Pete Geren launched the second "I. A.M. Strong" Sexual
Harassment/Sexual Assault Prevention Summit in Arlington, Va.,
Monday morning, telling the audience of Soldiers and civilians that
the Army would become the nation's "gold standard when it comes to
sexual assault investigation and prosecution."
Echoing the words of Lt. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, the Army G-1,
to "absolutely eradicate" sexual assault and sexual harassment in
the Army, Geren said that since 9/11 nearly 2,000 American Soldiers
had been punished for sexually assaulting a fellow Soldier. He also
said that sexual assault is one of the country's most
under-reported crimes.
"Experts estimate that only one in five sexual assaults are even
reported and that's not just within the Army, that's on the
outside, but we assume that to be true in the Army," he said. "And,
if that is true, those 2,000 reports mean since 9/11 that 10,000
American Soldiers have been assaulted by a fellow Soldier,
blue-on-blue ... 10,000 American Soldiers."
As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the second annual
summit kicked off phase two of a four-phase strategy to wipe out
sexual harassment and sexual assault and mount a campaign of
Army-wide conviction whereby all Soldiers and members of the Army
community take direct ownership of sexual harassment and assault
prevention by proactively engaging as role models who personally
take action and address any behavior which can lead to sexual
assault.
Phase one began Sept. 9, 2008 at the first Sexual Assault
Prevention and Risk Reduction Summit in which leaders dedicated
their efforts to implement the cornerstone of the I. A.M. Strong
campaign with senior leader condemnation of sexual harassment and
assault.
"I A.M." stands for intervene, act and motivate, the
cornerstones of the campaign.
"Last year with the launch of the I. A.M. Strong campaign, we
committed to the same sort of historic change within our Army with
regard to sexual assault that you accomplished in regard to the
ugly stains of racism that lingered for way too long in our
values-based organization," Geren told the audience.
"Sexual assault is an assault on the core values of every
American Soldier and is repugnant to everything a Soldier stands
for," he said.
Geren said the Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Judge
Advocate General have taken new measures to support victims and
hold offenders accountable. The measures includes hiring experts in
the field of prosecution and investigations. Additionally, 30
special investigators and 15 prosecutors have been placed at
installations with the highest occurrences of sexual assault.
He also said the Army has brought on board 35 examiners at the
Criminal Investigation Laboratory and funded specialized training
with the National Advocacy Center for prosecutors. The Army has
also established a mobilized investigation training team to train
all CID battalions.
According to the secretary, the additional resources will
augment current capabilities by establishing a special victim's
approach in the handling of sexual assault cases and it will
reinforce the Army's commitment to accountability.
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