Getting 'Left of Boom' on Sexual Misconduct.

AuthorMcCaffrey, Rachel A.
PositionNDIA Perspective

The defense community must tackle the threats sexual assault and harassment pose in the same way it attacked the threats posed by improvised explosive devices, by targeting the threat prior to an explosion. We need to get left of boom.

When IEDs began killing Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq, the defense community, government, industry and academia coalesced. Together they developed solutions, tactics, techniques and procedures to find, fix and finish bomb-making networks before they could plant explosives targeting the coalition.

The defense community quickly tackled the threat because--although the attacks were tactical--leaders understood large numbers of coalition IED casualties would drive strategic challenges to maintaining support for operations.

Today, the defense community faces another threat with strategic implications. Each instance of sexual harassment and assault is both a tactical attack against an individual and an operational attack against a specific organization's culture, reputation and ability to achieve results. Aggregated, these attacks pose a strategic threat discouraging the best talent from participating in efforts to solve America's largest security challenges.

It can be difficult to quantify the threat due to the diffuse nature of the defense community. However, a broad 2014 RAND Corp. workplace study provides some insight into the scope of the problem. The study found 7 percent of active duty men and 22 percent of active duty women experienced harassment over the previous 12 months, and 1 percent of men and 4.9 percent of women had been sexually assaulted. Additionally, respondents reported supervisors or unit leaders committed 60 percent of the harassment incidents.

The #metoonatsec letter, signed by 223 national security and defense professionals, also illustrates the scope of the threat. The signatories either experienced workplace harassment and/or assault or know someone who did. Since women make up 51 percent of the population, they comprise 51 percent of the potential talent available to solve the nation's toughest national security and defense challenges. Sexual assault and harassment in national security workplaces limit women's contributions, thereby weakening America's defense. We cannot allow this level of threat to continue within the defense community.

The same defense community partnership that previously targeted IEDs now needs to build and execute a coordinated campaign to tackle this strategic...

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