Bahrain Desert Times (518) - April 2024

NSA Bahrain Kicks Off Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

By MC1 Shayla D. Hamilton, NSA Bahrain Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain – The team comprising Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain’s Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC) and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocates (SAPR VA) kicked off Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM) with a cake-cutting ceremony at the Blue Jacket Bistro, April 3.

During the ceremony, NSA Bahrain personnel and command leadership were joined by members of the SAPR team to commemorate the beginning of a month-long observance of DoD-wide prevention and response efforts. In addition to the cake-cutting, Capt. Zachariah Aperauch, commanding officer, NSA Bahrain, signed a proclamation, declaring April as SAAPM.

“This yearly kick-off is intended to draw attention to the fact that sexual violence remains an intolerable, violent crime which impacts mission readiness for our military community,” said Aperauch in the proclamation. “With leadership, dedication and encouragement, there is compelling evidence that we can be successful in reducing sexual violence within the U.S. Navy through prevention education, increased awareness, and holding offenders who commit acts of violence responsible for their actions.”

The theme for SAAPM 2024 is “Step Forward. Prevent. Report. Advocate,” recognizing DoD’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault through compassionate advocacy, and just adjudication to promote professionalism, respect, and trust, while preserving mission readiness.

“This is not only a theme, but a call to action, and [our] SAPR victim advocates at NSA Bahrain

are motivated to respond to that call,” said Jamecia Robinson, NSA Bahrain SARC. “Our mission is to STEP FORWARD and challenge harmful behaviors, PREVENT through education and awareness,

aid and support anyone desiring to REPORT, all while being an ADVOCATE and amplifying voice for those who need us. We ask that you all join us in our mission by taking a STEP FORWARD. Let's

take care of our DoD community together.”

Throughout the month of April, the NSA Bahrain SSARC and SAPR VAs will host educational events including weekly radio

shows with the American Forces Network (AFN) Bahrain, broadcasting locally on 106.3 FM, weekly resource tables, and a 5K run. NSA Bahrain has more than 90 uniformed SAPR VAs, including Chief Master-at-Arms Jasmine Jones and Builder 2nd Class Nickolas Pagan, who shared why they assumed the mantle of SAPR VA.

“It [being a victim advocate] means a lot to me because the survivors may not have had a voice in the moment,” said Jones. “To be a SAPR victim advocate means I'm that voice for them, or I’m a louder voice to ensure that they are actually heard. I’ve seen how it [sexual assault] affects them and their loved ones and I’m here to let them know that we hear them. Some stories may feel embarrassing, but regardless of who the person is, we [SAPR VAs] have all been trained and there’s no judgement. When I’m an advocate, I’m just Jasmine; Jasmine, the SAPR victim advocate. It’s not just the victim advocates who can help; it’s the bystanders, it’s the people, their friends, their chiefs, whoever is around.”

“I advocate because it’s a very hard subject to navigate, when someone is assaulted,” said Pagan. “Maybe they feel like there’s nobody they can talk to, and I want to be that person for them; someone who will just listen.”

NSA Bahrain’s mission is to support U.S. and coalition maritime operations throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations by providing security for ships, aircraft and tenants on board NSA Bahrain and assigned detachments. NSA Bahrain provides efficient and effective shore services to sustain the fleet, enable the fighter and support the family with honor, courage and commitment.

Poland Joins Combined Maritime Forces in Middle East as 42nd Member

in the Spotlight

NSA BAHRAIN CELEBRATES WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Poland Joins Combined Maritime Forces in Middle East as 42nd Member

By Combined Maritime Forces Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Combined Maritime Forces welcomed the Republic of Poland as the 42nd member of the world’s largest maritime security partnership, March 17.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Poland as a member of CMF,” said Vice Adm. George Wikoff, CMF commander. “We greatly benefit from Poland’s participation in this coalition of nations committed to regional maritime security. I look forward to being ‘Ready Together’ with our new partners as CMF continues to set the global standard for maritime cooperation.”

CMF is comprised of a headquarters staff and five combined task forces focusing on defeating terrorism,

preventing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, and promoting a safe maritime environment. The naval partnership upholds the international rules-based order by supporting security and stability across 3.2 million square miles of water encompassing some of the world's most important shipping lanes.

With 42 nations, CMF is the largest naval partnership in the world. Other task forces include CTF 150, focused on maritime security in the Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea and eastern Gulf of Aden; CTF 151, which leads regional anti-piracy efforts; CTF 152, dedicated to maritime security in the Arabian Gulf; CTF 153,

the region.

Navy Launches Culture of Excellence 2.0

From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

The Navy launched Culture of Excellence 2.0 (COE 2.0) with NAVADMIN 051/24 on March 11, 2024, as an actionable approach to building great culture at every Navy command.

Culture of Excellence 2.0 focuses on building Great People, Great Leaders, and Great Teams, with the knowledge that this is the best way to prepare for victory in combat, innovate and solve hard problems, and prevent harmful behaviors. It is designed to simplify, streamline, and align traditional Navy programs with new concepts in order to close the gap between the Navy’s highest and lowest performing commands.

“I am releasing Culture of Excellence 2.0 (COE 2.0), the foundation by which our Navy builds its Warfighters – our People, Leaders, and Teams – as a key enabler of delivering the decisive combat power I talked about in ‘America’s Warfighting Navy,’” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti wrote in the naval administrative message.

Culture of Excellence 2.0 is written for command triads and leaders at all levels, but it can also be used by every member of the Navy Team, including civilians, to define what great culture looks like at every Navy command.

Several products accompany the launch. These include a new COE 2.0 visual placemat that serves as a concise explanation of “what right looks like,” and a playbook that serves as a comprehensive guide to implement COE 2.0 at the command level.

“By being boldly transparent and self-aware, we build combat Teams that are ready for any contingency in any domain,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea wrote in the COE 2.0 playbook. “In order for COE 2.0 to be truly successful, every Sailor must see themselves in this document. We must recognize through COE 2.0 how we make ourselves better, how we make our Shipmates better, and how we make our combat Teams better. Leaders must clearly see this and ensure others do as well.”

Building on Get Real, Get Better principles, the Navy recognized COE 2.0 as an opportunity to empower Navy Leaders with new resources, such as the Commander’s Risk Mitigation Dashboard (CRMD) and the Virtual CO’s Suggestion Box.

These tools intend to help command triads better understand how they can recognize and act on the needs of their People.

“Culture of Excellence 2.0 will be implemented in every Navy command, in order to have a direct and tangible impact on the Quality of Service of our Sailors,” said Rear Adm. Brett Mietus, Director of the Navy Office of Culture and Force Resilience. “It’s not a new requirement or checklist, but a radical simplification of traditional Navy ideas, ideals, and programs combined with newer concepts in order to provide every command with the tools necessary to build warfighters and teams ready to fight and win.”

The COE 2.0 integrated framework incorporates programs already familiar to Sailors, such as suicide prevention, sexual assault prevention and response, and Warrior Toughness, as well as more recent initiatives, such as the Navy Women’s Initiative Team (Navy-WIT) and the Mental Health Playbook.

In 2019, the Navy released initial guidance for building Culture of Excellence in NAVADMIN 254/19. This effort provided a series of tools for Sailors to strengthen fleet

wide culture. However, it did not achieve its desired effect for several reasons, to include the impact of COVID-19, too much complexity, and an incomplete approach to building culture. The new COE 2.0 guidance intentionally refrains from creating new tasks for commands, and instead prioritizes a realistic, holistic approach.

For more information on COE 2.0 concepts, visit Culture of Excellence (navy.mil).

For more news from the Chief of Naval Personnel, follow MyNavy HR on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube, or visit https://www.navy.mil/cnp

responsible for maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and western Gulf of Aden; and CTF 154, established in May to enhance maritime security training throughout

ISLAM AND CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

As a Muslim Chaplain, I am often asked this question; Do I have to abandon my cultural identity or adopt a new one to become a Muslim, or to be a “good Muslim”? Well, the first thing you need to know is that culture is NOT at odds with Islam, Muslims make up a global community of about 1.9 billion members (Review, 2024) from beautiful cultural backgrounds. The beauty of Islamic identity is that it is enriched by those who practices it, offering so much to the global Muslim community. One of my teachers and mentor described Islam as follows; Islam, as a world civilization, is like a crystal-clear river, with transparent water that always reflects the color of objects over which it flows but the taste and all other attributes of the water remain pure and life-giving. When it flows over green vegetation, you see green, when it flows over red desert sand, you see red, etc. Dr. Umar Faruq AbdAllah. (Abd-Allah, 2024)

Let us take a look at the relationship between culture and Islam. Culture is not just made of food, clothing, and language, but also a unique systems of knowledge, unique traditions and wisdoms, the way a community lives, and the written and oral contributions and traditions, all of which are known as cultural knowledge. Islam on the other hand, is made up of the Noble Qur’an, hadith, and worship, as well as God-given wisdom and principles guided by the Qur’an and sunnah (the prophetic examples), a philosophy and universal set of objectives, specific set of guidelines on how to live, and a written traditions and divine prophetic wisdoms. Islam provide the framework for life that values our cultural knowledge. But what exactly is this framework? Let us look at it this way; Islam is like a funnel or a filter, that receives all this cultural knowledge which may include some “unislamic elements”, and whatever is not in line with Islamic believe is filtered out. What successfully goes through the funnel is the purified important body of knowledge that enriches the global Muslim community.

Every community has its own body of cultural knowledge, and that diversity is recognized by God. Allah SWT said in the Holy Qur’an; “O mankind! We created you from a single pair of male and female and made you into nations and tribes that you may get to know one another. Surely, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-knowing, All-aware” ( Surah Al-Hujurat 49:13). So, if Islam acknowledges and appreciates different cultures and tribes, why do we have this sense of a “Muslim culture”? It is true that when some cultural communities form the majority in a given Muslim space, they may view the way that they practice Islam as the real way to practice Islam, but a very important Islamic principle that is often forgotten is that; all things are permissible until proven otherwise via the Qur’an and the teachings of prophet Muhammed (PBUH). If they pass through the Islamic fiter, different ways of doing somethings are all beautiful, and true ways to manifest Islam. In Islam, no cultural dressing is superior to the other as long as these dressings follow the Islamic guidelines. One of the challenges of the global Muslim community is cultural hierarchy. The notion of what we think are a normative community of Islam, in most cases, comes from dominate group within the community who may unintentionally offer their own interpretation as the real or only way to practice

Islam. When a cultural community dominates a Muslim space, they may exclude other minorities, making them invisible and eventually driving them out if these challenges are not properly managed. Being invisible doesn’t necessarily mean not having your cultural clothing, food, and language represented and appreciated, it also means not being able to express the social and political aspects of your community. Unnecessary exclusion does not just hurt feelings, it marginalizes and harms communities. When we realize that Islam is culturally friendly, we can begin to see the way that it encompasses and values all cultural knowledge that is within Islamic guidelines.

The story of Salman Al-farisi (Salman the Persian) is a typical example of how culturally friendly Islam can be. Salman, the Persian companion of prophet Muhammed who embraced Islam was not treated as inferior Muslim for not being an Arab. One of his memorable contributions to Islam was his cultural knowledge of effective warfare trenches, ultimately leading the Muslims to victory during the battle of the trenches. For an example that hits close to home, let’s look at Malcolm X, when Al-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz embraced orthodox Islam, he did not stop being African American. He stated, “I will probably continue to use (the name) Malcolm X as long as the situation that produced it continued to exist...” (News, 2017). Islam did not push him to change his name, as he saw values in both names in different context, Islam also gave him solution to racism and validated his fight for justice as stated in the Holy Qur’an “ O You who believe, uphold justice and bear witness to God, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives. Whether the person is rich or poor, God can best take care of both. Refrain from following your own desire, so that you can act justlyif you distort or neglect justice, God is fully aware of what you do.” (SWT, 2006). And in his fight for equality, he didn’t stop implementing his African American cultural knowledge after becoming a Muslim. He found success in utilizing much of what was beneficial for his fight for justice after he, and his message were refined through the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

So, what is the solution? How do we value the cultural knowledge of all members of the global Muslim community? It starts with recognition. Having diverse voices as well as culturally inclusive events and spaces, we can begin to bridge the gap and allow meaningful exchange to happen, because when everyone has a seat at the table, we can learn from each other’s unique experiences to not only tackle problems but enrich our global community and foster greater harmony.

References

Abd-Allah, D. U. (2024, March 28). Islam & the Cultural Imperative. Retrieved from The Oasis Initiative: https://www.theoasisinitiative.org/ islam-the-cultural-imperative News, N. Y. (2017, May 18). Amsterdam News. Retrieved from The New Black View : https:// amsterdamnews.com/news/2017/05/18/malcolm-xwhats-name/ Review, W. P. (2024, March 29). Retrieved from World Population Review: https:// worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/ muslim-majority-countries

SWT, A. (2006). The Holy Qur'an. In A. SWT, The Holy Qur'an. Damascus: Dar-Al-Maarifah.

New MOVIES at the MWR Cinema

Dune 2 (PG-13) – 2h 46m

Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the universe, he must prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. | Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Zendaya

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (PG-13) – 1h 55m

Godzilla and the almighty Kong face a colossal threat hidden deep within the planet, challenging their very existence and the survival of the human race. | Cast: Kaylee Hottle, Rebecca Hall, Nicola Crisa, Dan Stevens

Land of Bad (R) – 1h 53m

When a Delta Force team is ambushed in enemy territory, a rookie officer refuses to abandon them. Their only hope lies with an Air Force drone pilot as the eyes in the sky during a brutal 48-hour battle for survival. | Cast: Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, Luke Hemsworth, Milo Ventimiglia

Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire (PG-13) – 1h 55m

The Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse where the original Ghostbusters have taken ghost-busting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must unite to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age. | Cast: Mckenna Grace, Emily Alyn Lind, Finn Wolfhard, Bill Murray