Blake Hall
(photo: U.S. Army)
On December 15, 2014 Lt. Gen. James C. McConville, deputy chief of staff for Army personnel, presented 1st Sgt. Katrina Moerk with the Army Commendation Medal at the Pentagon. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel also met with Moerk at the Pentagon to thank her for upholding Army values online and for coming forward with the unethical online behavior.
Army first sergeant of Charlie Company, 741st Military Intelligence Battalion, Katrina Moerk recently came across an offensive video posted by several Army soldiers to an unspecified social networking site. The soldiers behind the video repeatedly harassed Moerk online after she commented that she found the video sexist and that the video didn’t reflect Army values.
After identifying the soldiers involved in the incident, Moerk contacted them directly. She looped in Dr. Christine Altendorf, who is the director of the Army’s Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program.
Altendorf alerted the Army’s then deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg to the video and the multiple harassing social media messages directed at Moerk. Three separate Army investigations resulted in improved training procedures to help prevent future instances of online harassment between Army soldiers. No disciplinary action against the soldiers has been confirmed.
(source: DoD News)