USA: NHB Carries Out SAPR-F Training

Naval Hospital Bremerton wrapped up all-hands training Feb. 1 with comprehensive and extensive Sexual Assault Prevention and Response-Fleet (SAPR-F) training.

SAPR-F instructor Lt. Patricia Butler said the new SAPR-F training, enhanced with a realistic 30-minute video production featuring Sailors on a ship who become caught up in a sexual assault situation, has encouraged individuals taking the training to keep focused on the main point.

“The new SAPR training offers many important things to Sailors,” said Butler. “What’s really becoming clear to everyone is there are so many resources people can use and more than anything people need to speak up if they see something or know someone who may be having escalating problems with a shipmate.”

Butler added that with each group there are diverse scenarios and engaging discussions. The significance of Sailors who have been out in the fleet brings a vast amount of input, knowledge and awareness to each SAPR session group.

“There are different experiences brought in with each group,” said Butler. “We’ve given the training to many people with stories of what they’ve come across in their Navy careers. It makes for a wide variety of discussion, which gives the training a better overall learning potential to listen and know what to watch for and do the right thing.”

The Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert said the SAPR training will help make sure everyone gets the word that any sexual assault in today’s Navy is, “completely unacceptable” and “we’ve got to face the facts – sexual assault is an attack on a Sailor,” said Greenert.

“This is a very serious situation for the United States Navy and all the services,” said Lt. Rachel Allnutt, SAPR-F instructor.

According to the 2011 Fiscal Year Report on Sexual Assault in the Military released in April of 2012, the total number of cases under investigation and reviewed for possible disciplinary action was 1,518.

“No one wants to be faced with the degrading and demeaning consequences when there is a sexual assault,” Allnutt said. “SAPR training will help ensure we all watch out for each other. With everyone’s continued diligence and awareness, we’ll help eliminate the problem.”

NHB SAPR-F instruction staff held more than 30 SAPR-F awareness classes for hospital staff and Branch Health Clinic Puget Sound Navy Shipyard, Branch Health Clinic Bangor, and Branch Health Clinic Everett.

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Naval Today Staff, February 5, 2013; Image: US Navy