 The elimination of sexual assault in the military remains one of the Department of Defense's top priorities. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a memo announcing seven new initiatives, August 15, to strengthen and standardize the Department's sexual assault prevention and response efforts. Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, George Little, spoke at a Pentagon press conference about the Department's continued commitment to preventing sexual assault. Every service member and DOD civilian deserves a safe environment in which they are free from the threat of sexual harassment and assault. We must continually evaluate and improve our prevention and response programs. Some of the new initiatives include creating a legal advocacy program to assist victims with the legal process when prosecuting sexual assaults. Developing changes to the manual for courts-martial, allowing victims to give input at sentencing and implementing policies that allow the assignment of those accused of sexual assault to help eliminate continued contact between them and the victim. You can read all of Secretary Hagel's initiatives at navy.mil. From the Defense Media Activity, I'm Petty Officer Brandy Wills.