Nearly 200 Sailors, Marines and family members participated in a Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) 5K Fun Run April 20 onboard Keesler Air Force Base.

The run was organized by the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) Keesler's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) victim advocates at the Alho Manor Navy Barracks.

The third annual SAAPM Fun Run was the main event in a series of events designed to reinforce sexual assault prevention and response during the month of April.

This year's Department of Defense and Navy theme "Protecting Our People Protects Our Mission" included a call to action to "Raise Your Voice for Prevention." The Navy is aiming to shift the campaign from awareness to prevention. Awareness generally focuses on education and programming, while prevention concentrates on building skills and changing behaviors to stop sexual assault before it happens.

Following the run, CNATTU Keesler's SAPR team visited the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence to deliver crates of towels, diapers and cleaning supplies donated by SAAPM supporters.
"Our volunteer efforts at the center are a great way for Sailors and Marines to have a tangible, positive impact on the local community," said Cmdr. Timothy Knapp, CNATTU Keesler commanding officer.

The center is a 72-bed facility in Biloxi that provides shelter, meals, clothing, personal hygiene items, child care, transportation, phone and computer access along with a comprehensive array of counseling and support services to victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault.

"We're the oldest and largest domestic violence center in the state of Mississippi," said Stacey Riley, Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence executive director. "[CNATTU] Keesler has been very good to us over the years - not only to us but to the entire community down the coast."

CNATTU Keesler is a training unit of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. CNATT develops, delivers and supports aviation technical training at 28 sites located throughout the continental United States and Japan.

CNATT is a training center under Naval Education and Training Command, and is a technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise, an organization designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost.

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