SHARP is a proactive U.S. Army program which aims to end sexual harassment and assault in the service. Sexual harassment is a crime in the armed forces, under the UCMJ Article 134 by executive order on 26 January 2022.Jeff Schogol (26 January 2022) Sexual harassment is now officially a crime in the US military Those accused of a crime such as sexual harassment, or assault are subject to the UCMJ (or to civil statute). Victims of such crimes are protected from disciplinary action, or prosecution by Army Directive as of 2022.U.S. Army Public Affairs (14 Jul 2022) Army Establishes two new Initiatives to Combat Harmful Behaviors A Special Trial Counsel, part of the Judge Advocate General's Corps has been established to combat harmful behaviors, in order to conduct independent prosecutions. SHARP has full-time staff at the brigade level and higher, and maintains a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook. See: SAPROTerri Moon Cronk, Defense.gov (November 4, 2020) SAPRO director pledges 'zero tolerance' for sexual assault, harassment Sexual assault prevention and response office (SAPRO) DoD level Since 2005, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the program. The Army is redesigning this Program as of 2021.Davis Winkie and Kyle Rempfer (10 Dec 2021) Leaked docs reveal Army CID reform plan and its need for a culture shiftUS Army Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (26 Mar 2021) People First Task ForcePeople First Task Force: "The Fort Hood Independent Review Committee found a deficient climate at Fort Hood, including ineffective implementation of the SHARP program"US Army Public Affairs (16 Apr 2021) Army outlines actions taken across the force to implement Fort Hood Independent Review Committee recommendationsDavis Winkie (7 Oct 2021) ‘Tip of the iceberg’: Army announces first round of SHARP reforms Six post pilot program to include fusion director who reports to the installation commander. Victims now have a local venue outside of their brigade Department of the Army Civilians (DACs) are also protected under SHARP as of September 2021.Thomas Brading (17 Sep 2021) New SHARP policy grants additional services to Army Civilians —DACs also protected under SHARP Army regulation AR 600-20 details the responsibilities of the Commanders of the respective units in the event of Sexual Harassment/Assault, as well as the expected response and/or prevention steps.Army Regulation 600–20. (Administrative revision, dated 1 Jul 2021) Personnel-General. Army Command Policy electronic publication, searchable for terms such as SHARP, or AR 15–6, etc. Includes glossary of terms used.Shannon Collins (28 Dec 2023) Army stands up Special Trial Counsel with independent authority for 13 UCMJ offenses
In 2021, the NDAA for 2022 provided for independent prosecutors offices in each branch of the service.Leo Shane III and Joe Gould (15 Dec 2021) Congress passes defense policy bill with budget boost, military justice reforms NANCY MONTGOMERY Europe (13 Jan 2022) Ruling requiring unanimous verdict at military sexual assault trial unlikely to survive appeal, analysts say Legislation in 2021, had previously intended to separate the commander of an afflicted unit from the military prosecutor's role in cases alleging sexual assault.Lara Seligman (04/29/2021) Pressure mounts on Austin to support major shift in handling military sexual assaultDarryl Coote (29 Apr 2021) Senators introduce bipartisan military justice reform bill to prosecute sexual assault Commanders at the FORSCOM, III Corps, and §Fort Hood levels now have specific actions to complete upon a Sexual Assault Review Board complaint.US Army Public Affairs (16 Apr 2021) Army outlines actions taken across the force to implement Fort Hood Independent Review Committee recommendationsBrandy Cruz, Fort Hood Public Affairs (May 13, 2021) Congressional sub-committee sees 'seismic change' at Fort Hood CID is being restructured: a civilian director reporting directly to the secretary of the Army will oversee criminal probes;Rachel Nostrant (17 Sep 2021) Civilian boss takes charge of Army CID for first time United States Army Criminal Investigation Command is better known as CIDKyle Rempfer (6 May 2021) CID overhaul: A civilian director will oversee criminal probes; officers to become special agentsU.S. Army Public Affairs (6 May 2021) Army announces CID restructure and SHARP policy improvements Forts Hood, Carson, and Bragg will be the first posts to implement the reorganization.Caitlin M. Kennedy (11 Aug 2021) US Army Picks Naval Special Agent to Lead Investigative Command Special agent Gregory D. Ford to be the first civilian director of CID The Provost Marshal and the Military Police will no longer undertake criminal investigations. A new branch like those in the Air Force and Navy for Special Agents will be instituted. FORSCOM now requires the selection of investigating officers from outside an installation's brigade-sized element, which is processing a complaint, effective 27 December 2023.Capt. Jorie P. Mason (16 Jun 2022) What soldiers need to know about the Army’s new approach to sex crimes A two-star general was reprimanded in 2021 for conducting a SHARP investigation internally, rather than turning the investigation over to CID.Davis Winkie (25 May 2021) Two-star general among group of soldiers punished after sexual misconduct probe See Unlawful command influence
Expectations for the Army On 8 December 2020, the secretary of the Army announced that the SHARP program failed to meet its mandate, notably in Fort Hood's command culture and that an action plan would address its shortcomings, beginning with the suspension of 14 senior leaders.Ryan Morgan (8 December 2020) Video: Army Secretary says Army’s sexual assault prevention program ‘hasn’t achieved its mandate’ Similar incidents at Camp Casey, South Korea led to a suicide after a service member waited 82 days for a transfer to a different duty location.Norah O'Donnell et.al. (November 17, 2020) Parents of soldier who died by suicide after sexual assaults call out "complete failure of the Army" In December 2020, the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, USFK defined a Continuum of Harm, ranging from healthy behaviors and descending through five sexual behaviors to remedy.19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command (December 2020) SHARP training focuses on mid-level leaders
Inculcating Army values Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin directed every senior leader to report on their sexual assault prevention programs, with an assessment of what has worked and what hasn't, by 5 February 2021. Austin "asked for relevant data for the past decade, including efforts to support victims".Lolita Baldor (23 January 2021) Defense chief orders review of military sex assault programsSecretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (23 January 2021) Countering sexual assault and harassment— Initial tasking Memorandum for senior Pentagon leadership, commanders of the Combatant commands, Defense agency and DoD field activity directorsNy Magee (2 April 2021) Army announces suspensions after trainee sexually assaulted by 22 service members at Fort SillJames Brabenec (20 April 2021) Fort Sill SHARP program manager empowers Soldiers to utilize program resources Fort Sill will co-locate sexual assault response coordinators (SARCs) and victim advocates (VAs) to the SHARP CenterAntonieta Rico, Army Resilience Directorate (27 May 2021) Officer shares harrowing experience of assault to drive culture change "As a captain who will be commanding Soldiers soon, I took several things away. As a leader I have to ensure that leaders within my formation understand that SHARP and EO (incidents are) not something that will be tolerated no matter your rank or title. In addition, making sure…they are educated and equipped with the tools to support Soldiers." —Capt. Shannakay Henry, US Army Changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) are underway; Sexual Assault cases are to be removed from commanders' purview.Meghann Myers (2 July 2021) Military needs commanders who truly don’t support sexual assault, commission concludes As of 29 December 2023, by the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, prosecution for sexual assault, and 13 other crimes are no longer in the unit commander's chain of command; rather a specially trained prosecutor in the office of special trial counsel, which is part of an O-7 judge advocate office will prosecute the case.Meghann Myers (29 December 2023) Sexual assault prosecutions officially out of the chain of command
As of 30 July 2021, SHARP training will occur before the Initial Entry Training (IET). Thomas Brading, Army News Service (30 July 2021) Sexual assault prevention starts on day one, Army senior leaders say After this change, IET programs saw a reduction in abuse rates from 30 per month to 3 per month.
Army G-1 study of sexual assault risk An Army G-1 project to Identify Army Organizational Factors Contributing to Sexual Assault Risk has released a RAND study of August 2017 to July 2018 records of sexual assault. The 18 June 2021 study showed that the average risk of sexual assault for women was 5.8%, and for men 0.64%. The five posts for women at highest risk of sexual assault were:Meghann Myers (19 Jun 2021) These five Army posts have the highest sexual assault risk, study shows Fort Hood, where the sexual assault risk was 8.4% in 2018 Fort Bliss Fort Riley Fort Campbell Fort Carson When RAND researchers controlled for posts of similar size and demographics, Fort Hood women were 1.7% more at risk than the cohort. Some risk factors are toxic command culture, and proximity to combat arms units.
Adjusting for other factors associated with high risk, the researchers found a completely different ranking: For women: Fort Drum, Fort Lewis, and Okinawa garrison were the highest risk For men: Fort Drum; Osan, Korea; and Italy's garrisons were the highest risk
The average risk of sexual harassment at Forts Hood, Bliss, Stewart, Riley, and Campbell was 24.4%.Haley Britzky (21 Jun 2021) These are the least safe Army posts for female soldiers SA/SH fusion directorates A one-year pilot program for fusion of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment directorates was announced in October 2021. Fusion directors will aggregate individual case services to give visibility to each victim's case, by installationGrinston, McConville, Wormuth (4 Oct 2021) FD Tri-signed Letter 4Oct2021.pdf Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment Fusion Directorate Pilots at: Aberdeen Proving Ground, Schofield Barracks, Forts Bragg, Irwin, Riley, and Sill, and a virtual directorate for 99th Readiness Division. The pilot is nested with the Fort Hood 90-day Independent review commission (FHIRC)Caitlin M Kennedy (7 Oct 2021) Army to Open Centers For Reporting Sexual Assault, Harassment as previous attempts to address sexual harassment and assault in the Army have not solved the problem.Jennifer Mattson (27 Jun 2012) Battling toxic leadership Haley Britzky (21 Jun 2021) ‘The Army has a transparency problem’ — Inside the Army’s failure to communicate Davis Winkie and Meghann Myers (9/22/2021) Top Army spokesperson suspended after abysmal climate survey BG Amy E. Johnston Haley Britzky (4 Oct 2021) Inside the office of a one-star Army general that 100% of soldiers rated 'hostile' Command climate survey —Office of the Chief of Public Affairs— Fusion directors will be available to the victims in the following locations: Aberdeen Proving Ground Schofield BarracksUS Army (1 Apr 2022) SHARP Fusion Directorate improves victim support, focuses on prevention Fort Bragg Haley Britzky (27 Oct 2021) This is the Army’s plan to stop physically breaking so many of its soldiers Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP) office is located in Falcon Holistic Health and Fitness Center (H2F) at Fort Bragg Fort Irwin Fort Riley Fort Sill