Armed Forces News

The Army is placing greater responsibility on prevention of sexual harassment and assault on senior non-commissioned officers and the first-line squad leaders under them, as part of a new initiative to thwart such crimes. The plan calls for seeking out the service’s 32 best squad leaders, who in turn would help develop recommendations for solving the problem. “We must remain committed to making further advances along our five lines of effort – prevention, investigation, accountability, advocacy and assessment and we must continue to work on fostering a climate where individuals are not afraid of retaliation or the stigma of reporting a crime,” Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel A. Dailey said during a March 31 Pentagon ceremony to mark the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.