Should SHARP be the #1 priority for the Army right now?

Its very depressing to see our pay and benefits shrink and become more stringent every year. Have the demands of training or threats to our nation diminished at all? I didn't think so. when seasoned service members bring this point up the answer is always the same . " well you can always just get out sarnt" How can you say that to peoplethe majority of whom answered our nation's call when the war on terror first kicked Off. Sexual Assault, Equal Opportunity and Suicide are all critical focus points. None more important than the other. However we should really start looking at these issues from the top down. Every SHARP class I've sat through generally has lower enlisted and some Junior NCO's in the videos. ... I don't know about you guys but I did see that documentary " the silent war" sure were a lot of upper echelon individuals being indicated. Im sure I'm just supposed to ignore that. Why is it that the class six is always stocked and open nearly every day? you can find a greater variety of alcohol than any other item sold on any base exchange. That means you a greater selection of beer than soap.... kinda sends the wrong signal doesn't it. I mean we do know thar 90% of sexual assaults involve booze. We also know that there aren't enough medical resources available to support members who need it which contributes to depression which leads to suicides. .. in regards to EO I honestly think we might be a little too vigilant in some areas been a long time since I've seen a minority as SMA though just saying

Suicide, SHARP, and EO are all things that are hurting us. Most units have been affected by all or most of them. Even if it's just a Soldier in the unit who knows someone who was affected. They give the Army, and the Military a big black eye.

I would love to spend more time on my benefits. I would love to know more about the draw down, and how it affects my unit, and me. But until the PR nightmare that the other problems create is dealt with I don't see it changing.

I can't/shouldn't vote for two reasons. 1st, I am retired, so my opinion is now dated and irrelevant. 2nd, Sexual Assaults are huge problem, that I dealt with as a MP, a Company and Battalion Commander, and finally for 37 months as a Garrison Commander as we rolled all these changes out. But, it is not the only problem. I think we need to also focus on the suicide issue as well. The other three pale in comparison.

The army needs a better way of screening potential Soldiers and transitioning Members for Suicide prevention. We loose so many of our brothers and sisters to it every day.

NO...SHARP should never HAVE to be the #1 priority for the Army EVER! Military PROFESSIONALS should be just that...PROFESSIONALS!

I would prefer we focus on personnel and equipment readiness. That is what wins wars. All other initiatives should fall secondary to that. The last time I checked our rate of sexual harassment and assault is lower than that of the general populace. While I agree we need to continue to work on eliminating SHARP issues within our ranks, if we have a problem our society has an even bigger problem.

As we all know, sexual harassment is an issue in the Army. I have been in a units that seems as if we are doing SHARP traing every week for 6 hours, and is because someone on post was sexually harassed. As this is becoming an issue, I beleive that our standards as an Army as a whole is going down, specifically discipline. We are letting the wrong people in and kicking the right Soldiers out / or letting the right ones go to fast andeasy. this is not good for business. I have seen so many of my good buddies leave because the Army is not enforcing standards, discipline, regulation, values. They would rather become or risk becoming homeless on the outside than deal with the BS. Me, I stayed in hoping I can make a difference. The army wants to move more towards the way a fortune 500 company runs, sounds nice, maybe a few ideas can be brought over but the fact is, because of the militaries business (War) and other stuff, we can not run like those companies. I remember when i screwed up, i got my ass chewed off and the smoked the hell out of. im not saying bring that back peersay, but not everything needs to be put on paper. But discipline is not being taught and instilled in a Soldier in Basic or AIT anymore. Basic use to beworse thethan the unit, we looked forward to it. Now the Soldier comes to the company with a rude awakening because they are expecting the NCO to bow down to them and tend to their every need like the drill sergeants did (or whatever they are called now). Bringing back discipline wont solve all the problems in the Army, but I beleive it willbbe a big start.

ROTC isn't exception to the dreaded SHARP training, but... I would say that no government program will ever stop sexual harassment/assault... not just in the military, but just about anywhere. It is the same thing as telling an idiot to stop stealing. You can't fix stupidity.

Yes, sexual assaults in the military seriously undermine the Army readiness and its Army values, but... It is ultimately up to each and every one of us to actively step in/intervene when there is a risky situation. That seems to be the only solution. Elimination of all sexual assaults would be ideal, but in reality, there will be bad apples in every apple tree.

A lot of times folks from Cadet Command come down to ROTC battalions and conduct post-SHARP training climate survey and the questions they ask is just so pointless... such a huge waste of our time to just stand around so early in the morning just so that these people can ask some stupid/vague/general questions that won't even help prevent any sexual assaults.

Honestly speaking, SHARP should be common sense. Sometimes it's hard for me to understand why things have gotten so bad to the point that government would have to create pointless programs that bombard the employees/members of the armed forces with hours of sexual assault prevention education programs. And especially in the military. It's just hard to believe so many people call themselves the members of the armed forces and do stupid things that is contrary to the values that the military upholds.

What about the soldiers that have encounter injuries due to service that have been misdiagnosed, due to medical personal not taking the proper time with the service member. I hear it from veterans all the time, why didn't they catch this or that!

I've seen what sexual harassment can do to a female solider/Vet. At the VA, a lot of the trauma patients have had sexual harassment or assaulted, or both. Besides the PTSD, now they have to face their other demons. I've helped a few out by gaining their trust in men and not feeling ashamed of something that wasn't their fault. It didn't happen overnight. It took months of coaching and friendliness towards them. Ive always looked at it like what if she was my daughter or wife. I really think SHARP is what all the military should concentrate on.