Award-winning SARC offers great SAPR program

Published April 16, 2015
By Pascual Flores
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst's award-winning sexual assault response coordinator is making great strides in the base's sexual assault prevention and response programs with several new initiatives.

By introducing monthly joint service SARC meetings; the creation of Team Teal, an action group comprised of service members from all branches of the military; and establishing support with local health communities, Mary Kierstead, joint base SARC, and the SAPR team are greatly improving response and prevention on the joint base.

"What I am seeing now is people being more willing to come forward," said Kierstead. "I think they are more trusting of the government judicial system, as well as more familiar with the SAPR program and feel more comfortable to come in and make a report."

Kierstead also reports a new trend of people being more comfortable seeking help for things that happened in the past often at previous bases or prior to military service. According to Kierstead, unless the victim gets help, they will have difficulty recovering. She urges seeking help, no matter how far in the past the incident occurred.
SARCs address victims' safety and security needs, provide opportunities for victims to discuss the incident with a qualified therapist, and offer expertise to prepare victims for the road ahead. Professional assistance with medical care, counseling services, spiritual support and legal resources are also available to victims according to the official SAPR website.

"I think really the focus where we have expanded so much is not in the victim care, but to reaching out beforehand to prevent people from becoming victims in the first place," said Kierstead. "And that is where we have made huge strides."

The JB MDL SAPR office provides a 24-hour, seven-day a week sexual assault response capability for all victims on the installation and assigned geographically separated units and initiates either an unrestricted or restricted report, depending on the wish of the victim.

"We have put so much focus and energy into building a good team, I certainly could not do it all by myself. Not only do I have the fantastic support of my team, but, the support I receive from my leadership is unwavering," said Kierstead.

Being part of the nation's only tri-service joint base, which includes four Air Force wings and more than 80 mission partners from all five services offers some unique challenges for Kierstead and her team.

"Every branch of the military has its' own service specific sexual assault response program," said Kierstead, JB MDL,SARC. "Because JB MDL is an Air Force-lead program, I do not run the other branches programs, but I do kind of oversee the data collected and coordination of all our programs."

"Many of my counterparts on other Air Force Bases deal with only one or two air wings," continued Kierstead.

In addition to working with base members, Kierstead also coordinates with the local community. Recently, Kierstead and the SAPR program established and signed two agreements with local authorities to determine services provided by area hospitals, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office, county sexual assault nurse examiners; and creating partnerships with the Burlington County Contact, a Rape Crisis Center, providing additional professional training to victim advocates and Team Teal members.

In addition to her role as SARC, Kierstead also acts as case manager for every victim personally, offering victim advocacy referral support, and some clinical and medical health care counseling throughout the entire process. She also keeps Fletcher and other commanders apprised of the progress of ongoing cases in their units.

"I'm glad she was finally recognized for the hard work she has done with the sexual assault response coordinator program here at JB MDL," said Navy Capt. Christopher Fletcher, JB MDL deputy commander. "She has taken this program and built it into a very successful, strong program, not only for the Air Force, but for the joint base in reaching out to all the rest of our joint base partners to including them into the sexual assault coordinator program."