LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A Defense task force visited Lackland Jan. 13-15 as part of a worldwide assessment to gather information for a congressional report on sexual assault response in the military and look at best practices to take away and share with other military installations.
The Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services gathered feedback on Lackland's prevention and response of sexual assault and gave victims or witnesses of sexual assault an opportunity to meet individually with a member of the Task Force.
Dr. Louis Iasiello, DTFSAMS co-chair, said the visit went very well. "We think (Lackland) is doing a terrific job in a very difficult area," he said. Dr. Iasiello specifically applauded the work being done by Lackland's Sexual Assault Prevention and Outreach program. "Lackland has a dynamic (SAPO) program doing outstanding outreach."
Dr. Iasiello praised several aspects of Lackland's outreach efforts, including the mentoring program for technical training students, the training program for basic military trainees and the partnership between Lackland, law enforcement and the local community.
"The Defense Task Force's visit provides first responders and military leaders at Lackland an opportunity to hear how our sexual assault response procedures and prevention efforts are working. Through focus groups, we were able to hear how our very own military members thought Lackland was doing in regards to the issue of sexual assault. The feedback from the Task Force and Lackland personnel will significantly contribute to our future efforts in both sexual assault response procedures and prevention," said Dr. Charlotte Moerbe, the director of Lackland's SAPO.
The Task Force is made up of 12 members appointed by the Secretary of Defense. Six members are senior military personnel from the Department of Defense and six members represent subject matter experts from outside the DoD with a demonstrated expertise in the area of sexual harassment and violence.
They also visited Randolph Air Force Base and Fort Sam Houston during its visit to San Antonio, using focus groups and informal interviews to gather information.
Results of the study will be consolidated into a report and submitted to the Secretary of Defense and the individual secretaries of each branch of the military. Once they have reviewed and evaluated the report, it will be forwarded to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives.
A final report will be available to the public once all inputs have been made. To view updates on the task force and their tour, visit www.dtic.mil/dtfsams.