SAPR MMTT Visits USS Enterprise

A Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Master Mobile Training Team (MMTT) visited aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in the Arabian Sea to provide training to command leadership, July 31-Aug. 1 as the ship continued its final deployment.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response MMTTs began deployments to worldwide locations July 13, as part of the Navy’s aggressive efforts to prevent sexual assaults and promote essential culture changes within the force.

The teams are providing SAPR leadership training (SAPR-L) to command leadership triads (commanding officer/officer in charge, executive officer/assistant officer in charge, and command master chief/chief of the boat/senior enlisted advisor) in fleet concentration areas and locations with significant Navy presence. The command triads will then deliver the SAPR-L training to their command leadership, E-7 and above.

“We provide leadership with the tools, such as awareness, prevention and response,” said Naval Education Training Command (NETC) Command Master Chief (SW/AW) Dominic A. Musso, the senior enlisted advisor to Rear Adm. Cliff Sharpe. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone understands what it is, how to prevent it, and, if it happens, how we can respond correctly. You respond correctly by supporting, reporting and initiating the official investigation.”

Nearly 650 SAPR-L training sessions are scheduled to be conducted Navy-wide by the middle of August, providing training for regular and reserve commands. All SAPR-L training must be completed for E-7 and above by Sept. 30, and SAPR-L training completion will be documented by individual commands via the Fleet Training Management Planning System (FLTMPS).

“Until recently we have not made an official stance saying that we will eliminate sexual assault in the Navy,” said Musso, a former Enterprise command master chief. “Our CNO has done that. We are now equipping commands with the tools to ensure that Sailors feel comfortable reporting these events up the chain of command where action can be taken.”

Sexual assault prevention is an important element of the readiness area of the 21st Century Sailor and Marine initiative, which consolidates a set of objectives and policies, new and existing, to maximize Sailor and Marine personal readiness, build resiliency and hone the most combat-effective force in the history of the department of the Navy (DoN).

“This training is a key component to stamping out sexual assault,” said Enterprise Command Master Chief (AW/SW) Dwayne Huff. “It was concise and made clear that sexual assault affects everyone and we have no room for it in our Navy.”

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Naval Today Staff, August 2, 2012; Image: US Navy