The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center announced Oct. 23, the launch of a new Navy web-based sexual health lesson available on Navy Knowledge On-Line (NKO).

This product was co-developed by NMCPHC and the Navy Education and Training Center's (NETC) former Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD). The training is categorized as GMT-CARE, which means it must be delivered at least once per deployment cycle (or every 2 years).

"NMCPHC has been providing health-related subject matter support to NETC through CPPD for over 15 years, and we consider NETC and CPPD as valued public health partners," said Cmdr. Amy Drayton, NMCPHC director for population health. "We consider NETC to be a valued public health partner."

The theme is "Ask the Doc!" and encourages Sailors to ask their doc about key sexual health issues. These issues include long-acting reversible contraceptives like the intrauterine device (IUD) and the sub-dermal implant, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, emergency contraception, annual Chlamydia screening for young women, annual HIV screening for people at high risk, HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and Pap testing.

According to Mr. Michael "Bob" MacDonald, NMCPHC Sexual Health and Responsibility Program (SHARP) Manager, the training is intended to inform Sailors about these key issues and encourage and empower them to initiate conversations about sexual health with their health care provider.

"The lesson format was developed in collaboration with multiple focus groups to maximize its resonance and relevance with young Sailors and leaders," said MacDonald.

The new on-line lesson invites the learner to select a baseball card to represent themselves--male or female baseball player. The learner plays nine innings of baseball against the computer, scoring runs for correct responses and for watching video clips.

The game plays a bit differently for male and female learners. There is a "coach me" button with clues to the right answers that can be accessed before completing each "inning". Based on their score, learners earn a badge of "bench warmer", "starter", "all-star" or "MVP".

The brief, fun lesson may be accessed via NKO, Navy Electronic Learning, course CPPD-GMT-SHR-1.

See the 2016 General Military Training instructions HERE

For more news from Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, visit www.navy.mil/.