VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Master Mobile Training Teams from the Navy's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Task Force are preparing to deploy worldwide to provide SAPR training to fleet leaders, Navy officials said July 12.
Part of the Navy's aggressive efforts to prevent sexual assaults and promote essential culture changes within the force, the 14 SAPR Master Mobile Training Teams (MMTTs) will deploy from the Center for Professional and Personal Development (CPPD) around the globe starting July 13 to provide 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.
The MMTT preparatory training to command triads will prepare the command triad to provide valuable SAPR training to officers and enlisted leaders, explained Capt. Scott Seeberger, chief of staff for the SAPR Task Force.
"The MMTTs have a great journey ahead of them as they train our command leaders and provide tools critical to reducing sexual assault and promoting a culture of respect and professionalism in the force. SAPR-L will be the first phase of this training utilizing a top-down leadership approach," said Seeberger. "We've structured the MMTTs to reflect the command triad with a captain, commander and master chief. We've also added a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer to each team to explain the legal procedures that follow an allegation of sexual assault and discuss recent changes in the Uniform Code of Military Justice that apply."
The MMTT training is coordinated and hosted by CPPD and uses videos and a variety of methods to reinforce the fact that sexual assault is a crime and will not be tolerated in the Navy.
"We've put a lot of time and effort into working with the contractor to ensure that the training is innovative, effective and relevant with today's Navy," said Capt. John Newcomer, CPPD commanding officer. "There isn't a single briefing slide in the entire presentation - the focus is on interaction and facilitated face-to-face discussion to provide command leaders the tools to develop and promote a culture of change."
Nearly 650 SAPR-L training sessions are scheduled in the next month, providing training for regular and reserve commands. The few commands that are deployed and unable to host a MMTT can receive the training via Defense Connect Online. SAPR-L training must be completed for all 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).
Capt. Clark Price, commanding officer of the Navy ROTC unit at Savannah State University and assigned as team leader for the Florida/Central Command MMTT, will present some of first SAPR-L sessions, starting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.
"The training for the MMTTs was excellent; it got the teams up to the podium almost immediately and ready to prepare the command triads to conduct interactive training with their senior leadership," said Price. "My team has an aggressive schedule of 11 cities in 30 days allowing us to see a lot of the fleet. My team is looking forward to delivering the CNO's message on sexual assault prevention."
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).
