Cmdr. Christopher Mora recently returned to his duties as branch office head for Region Legal Service Office Southeast Branch Office New Orleans after 30 days traveling the southern United States and Western Europe as the judge advocate assigned to the Navy Personnel Command (NAVPERS) Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (
SAPR) Master Mobile Training Team (MMTT).
The NAVPERS MMTT was one of 14 MMTTs from the Navy's
SAPR Task Force. The MMTTs deployed on July 13 to provide SAPR leadership training (SAPR-L) to the Navy’s khaki leadership in fleet concentration areas and locations with a significant Navy presence. The training is part of the Navy's effort to promote the Chief of Naval Operation’s vision of essential cultural changes intended to prevent sexual assaults and ensure effective response when assaults do occur. It uses videos and facilitated discussion to raise leaders’ awareness about sexual assault, to give leaders the techniques to foster command climates that prevent sexual assault, and to equip leaders with the tools to respond to sexual assaults when they do occur. The Center for Professional and Personal Development (CPPD) developed and coordinated the SAPR-L training. CPPD also trained the MMTTs before the teams headed out to the Fleet. Each MMTT team included a judge advocate like Mora. The role of the judge advocate was to explain the legal procedures that follow an allegation of sexual assault and discuss recent policy changes enacted by the Secretary of Defense as well as changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. “My presentation emphasized that the proper three-step response in all cases is to support the alleged victim, to report the incident via OPREP/SITREP, and to initiate an NCIS investigation,” said Mora. In addition to Mora, the NAVPERS MMTT included Capt. Sandra Engh, Capt. Michael Detzky and Master Chief Damage Controlman Keith Tucker. A Navy Reserve Line Officer, Engh served as the team leader and introduced the facilitated discussions. Detzky, a retiring 30-year veteran of the Navy Reserve, delivered a motivational speech that comprised the “awareness” piece of the SAPR-L presentation. Tucker’s interactive discussion illustrated “prevention and intervention” techniques currently being taught throughout the Fleet. In 30 days, the NAVPERS MMTT conducted 35 two-hour SAPR-L presentations to approximately 1700 personnel from over 250 commands in seven cities throughout the southern United States and Western Europe. In all, the 14 MMTTs conducted nearly 650 SAPR-L training sessions to regular and reserve commands. The few commands that were deployed and unable to host a MMTT will receive the training via Defense Connect Online. Rear Adm. John Messerschmidt, director of analysis and assessments (ECJ7) and Reserve component advisor to the commander, U.S. European Command, observed, "The SAPR-L training was a much needed opportunity to pause and reflect on who we are as leaders, and what it really means to be a Shipmate. It's about creating a culture that will never, ever allow or put a fellow Sailor in harm's way. This is a never ending all hands on deck effort." Capt. Eric Gardner, Chief of Staff, Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia, attended one of the NAVPERS MMTT’s presentations at Naval Support Activity Naples. “The SAPR-L training team did an excellent job impressing upon our officers and chiefs the importance of active leadership in preventing sexual assault, ensuring victims receive the support they need and deserve without judgment or re-victimization, and emphasizing that every Sailor has a role in preventing sexual assault,” said Gardner. 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). For more information on SAPR, visit
http://www.sapr.mil/ and
http://www.myduty.mil/.