Sailors and civilians assigned to Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and Expeditionary Warfighting Development Center participated in a "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event, April 22, during Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month (SAAPM).

This year's Department of Defense and Navy theme is "Eliminate Sexual Assault: Know Your Part. Do Your Part." Eliminating sexual assault requires every service member be a steadfast participant in creating an appropriate culture and upholding military core values.

The NECC/EXWDC coordinated event, held on board Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, was created to help people talk openly about sexual assault-related issues and find ways to prevent them.

Rear Adm. Frank Morneau, commander, NECC, kicked off the event by gathering attendees before walking a mile around JEBLC-FS. He praised the Sailors and civilians who were participating and discussed the history of "Walk a Mile in her Shoes."

NECC's Command Master Chief Corey Heinrich discussed the importance of everyone doing their part to end sexual assault in our Navy.

"I came out this morning because I wanted to do my part and show to everybody in our command that it's important that we as a command and Navy get ahead of such a destructive behavior as sexual assault," said Heinrich.

Chief Yeoman Denise Dalton, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) point of contact at NECC, helped lead the group of participants in the 1-mile walk.

"The Navy is an organization where we all work together, we are a team, and when sexual assault occurs, it affects everyone," said Dalton.

Yeoman 1st Class Miracle Ericksen, NECC's assistant SAPR point of contact, served as the lead coordinator for this event and discussed its importance.

"The SAPR team here at NECC believes it's important to use different methods to keep the SAPR program at the forefront, this walk is just one of many ways to bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault," Ericksen said. "The SAPR Program remains one of the CNO's (chief of naval operations) top priorities and I think it's essential that the commands continue to spearhead the push for education throughout the fleet."

To learn more about sexual assault prevention, visit www.sapr.mil.

NECC is an enduring warfighting force providing sea-to-shore and inland operating environment capabilities across the full range of military operations, which is focused on delivering combat-effective expeditionary forces ready for worldwide operations now and into the future.

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, visit www.navy.mil/.