Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras –
Joint Task Force - Bravo’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program leader provided training to Honduran Air Force academy cadets and enlisted corps 10 and 16 July.
“JTF-Bravo was invited by the academy leadership to discuss topics of sexual harassment and sexual assault with the Honduran cadets. This was an educational and open discussion forum,” said U.S. Army Maj. Margarita Chmykhalova sexual assault response coordinator for JTF-B. “I spoke about advocacy against sexual harassment and assault and how it degrades mission readiness.”
The SHARP mission is to reduce, with an aim toward eliminating, sexual offenses within the U.S. Army and military through cultural change, prevention, intervention, investigation, accountability, advocacy, response, assessment, and training to sustain the all-volunteer force.
The opportunity to provide training to the host nation military cadets and enlisted crops was a first for Chmykhalova, but hopefully not the last time.
“Partnerships make our forces stronger. We aim to continue this training with the Honduran enlisted core academy, and we’ve recently been invited to discuss topics of sexual harassment and sexual assault with them,” said Chmykhalova.
U.S. Southern Command provides both strategic and operational support to assist partner nation militaries and security forces with planning, training, and equipment. Many of JTF-B’s support activities, such as this training, are aligned with the U.S. government’s contributions to regional security initiatives.
“As the Honduran military develops their sexual harassment program, we are grateful for the opportunity to share information about our proactive and comprehensive sexual assault prevention program to enable mission readiness and reduce – with a goal to eliminate – sexual assault from our military,” said Chmykhalova.