Captain explains SARC program to House subcommittee

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Capt. Daniel Katka was on Capitol Hill Jan. 28 to discuss how the Air Force helps victims of sexual assault.

Captain Katka, a sexual assault response coordinator at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, joined a panel of sister service representatives to answer questions from the Military Personnel Subcommittee.

The elected officials asked mainly about what improvements the Air Force has made to the system when an assault is reported. They also wanted to know if the SARCs felt they were getting the support they need to do the job of caring for victims.

"Air Force SARCs report directly to the installation vice wing commander, which ensures top-level support and immediate access when needed," Captain Katka said.

In addition to SARCs, Air Force bases have victim advocates -- volunteers who receive 40 hours of training on how to help victims of sexual assault, the captain said.

One concern the committee members raised was about deployed locations and if military members can still count on SARCs and victim advocates while deployed. Captain Katka related his experiences while assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing as their SARC.

"If an Airman goes through victim advocacy training, they receive a "special experience identifier" code on their personnel records," Captain Katka explained. "A SARC can request a list of individuals that have that SEI so they can identify Airmen who can potentially be a VA. While I was deployed, I put out a bulletin to the base looking for any victim advocates who would be willing to help."

In addition, Captain Katka traveled to a geographically separated unit where he set up a sexual assault response team, ensuring that just because the base GSU did not have a designated SARC, should they have an assault, SARC and victim advocate services were immediately available.

Overall, the committee was pleased to hear of service efforts to combat sexual assault, but said they will hold further hearings later in the year to hear from other subject matter experts.

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