Keith Sei- United States Navy

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Secretary of the Navy has announced a new Department of the Navy sexual assault survey for 2013, which started Oct. 15, and can be taken online via any device that can access the internet.

The Department of the Navy Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DoN SAPRO), which answers directly to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, created the survey to assess the Department's progress, and learn what more Sailors and Marines think should be done to fight sexual assault.

"We can't help them if we don't know what the issues are, and we don't know if our training is working," said Jill Loftus, director of DoN SAPRO. "If they think our training is horrible, then we'd like to know that, so that we can switch gears. We'd also like to know if they think that it is worthwhile and if they're learning stuff because then we can continue in that vein."

From previous surveys, DoN SAPRO has learned that the majority of sexual assaults in the Navy and Marine Corps happen to 18 - 24 year-olds in social settings involving alcohol, and that the assaults usually occur at A-schools right after boot camp, or at the first duty station.

"We've used that information to set up pilot programs," said Loftus. "Our Great Lakes experiment that we've been very successful with came from information we learned from our surveys."

The experiment targeted Training Support Center Great Lakes, mainly the Sailors who have recently graduated boot camp. The program brought together the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), local hotels, commanding officers, and others to put an end to the risky situations Sailors may encounter.

The program also incorporated bystander intervention training, "No Zebras, No Excuses" training, Sex Signals training, a large group presentation on sexual assault and two small-group presentations with discussion groups.

Referring to Great Lakes, Loftus said, "Using anonymous surveys, we have seen a 60 percent reduction in sexual assaults over the past 34 months."

This year's survey incorporates questions from previous surveys, Department of Defense surveys and academic surveys. Pulling from the surveys and lessons learned, DoN SAPRO made the survey more concise to pinpoint the information they're trying to find, while taking less time from Sailors and Marines.

"The 10-minute survey that's online focuses directly on the issues surrounding sexual assault, and addresses issues such as perceptions, attitudes of Sailors and Marines about the issue of sexual assault," said Cmdr. David McKay, a research psychologist at DoN SAPRO. "We're also interested in understanding reporting behaviors and attitudes about reporting.

"Sexual assault is one of the top priorities of the Secretary, and should be a top priority for all Sailors and Marines, to try to figure out how to combat sexual assault. The survey is important because it does a couple things. One, it helps us gauge progress on the different interventions we're implementing. Secondly, it provides an opportunity for Sailors and Marines to speak directly to the Secretary about their experiences about sexual assault."

The 21st Century Sailor and Marine Office (N-17) lists combating sexual assault as one of its main priorities. Rear Adm. Sean S. Buck, the director of N-17, spends time with Sailors to get feedback.

"When I visit with Sailors, I am constantly asked - 'what else can I do to make a difference?' Besides looking out for your shipmates and actively intervening when necessary, surveys like this are your chance to do something, to make your voice heard," Buck said.
Although the survey is a chance for Sailors and Marines to be heard, it is completely anonymous. No one will get a reminder to complete the survey because no one is tracking the individuals who take the survey.

"We won't know if you haven't filled out the survey," said Loftus. "There's no fingerprint. There's no electronic tag to our survey. It can be taken from a smart phone; it can be taken from a tablet; it can be taken at the Apple store; it can be taken at your desktop or at home. We have no idea who you are and so you won't get that email reminding you to take it."

Loftus said that some of the initiatives that Mabus has instituted, based on previous survey results, included doubling the number of sexual assault investigators at NCIS, increasing the number of sexual assault response coordinators, 66 full-time victim advocates that are civilians trained as counselors, who will help victim support. The JAG is also instituting a victim's legal counsel who will help victims through the process and the Navy is deploying civilian resiliency counselors, who are also certified SARCs, on every big deck.

"I think that the Navy and the Marine Corps are really spending the resources and putting the attention on prevention, victim care and support," said Loftus. "We think that if Sailors and Marines are honest and forthright in taking this survey, and we get enough of them, that we'll be able to show the nation and other service people that we're really taking this seriously, that we care, and that we don't want victims. We want to prevent sexual assault. This is a way for every member of the service to help us do that."

The survey is available at www.donsapro.navy.mil/donsas.html.

The password for all military participants is 2013Survey and the survey will be available through Jan. 6, 2014.

NHL 2013 New Rules

A few of the NHL’s rule changes for the 2013-14 season got plenty of attention.

Hybrid icing is a high-profile item, thanks to an unfortunate number of extremely serious injuries coming off races for the puck.

The new enforcement of old rules regarding how uniforms must be worn—notably, players can’t tuck in their jerseys or tear their hockey pants—also caught some attention, mostly because the jersey tuck is a signature item for players like Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin.

Other rule changes passed with comparatively little notice, but they too will alter the way the game is played this season.

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

Mandatory Visors
It was big news this summer, but the clamour died down quickly. Nearly three-quarters of NHL players wore visors last season and othe NHLPA voted for the rule change over the summer.
The union’s Mathieu Schneider told NHL.com’s Mike Brophy that a “significant majority” of players favored the implementation of the rule:

We feel very comfortable with where the players stand on this. Today, we accomplished an awful lot and we were able to get consensus. It was the first time since we have been polling players that we had a clear majority that have wanted it grandfathered in.

The new rule sees all players with fewer than 25 games of NHL experience mandated to wear a visor.
An additional result of the rule change is that the penalty for instigating a fight with a visor has been removed from the rulebook. That means Ladislav Smid won't get 19 minutes in penalties the next time he does this:

Francois Laplante/Getty Images

Modified Goalie Equipment
There’s a reason changes to goalie equipment don’t get a lot of attention from fans. It’s because those rules have been changed before, but the results have been decidedly lacking.
This time around, things might be different.
The first big shift is a reduction in pad size. The last time the NHL changed the rules (in 2010-11), the average goalie was allowed to have leg pads that came 11 inches above the knee. That’s been slashed down to nine, meaning that there are as many as four additional inches of gap to close when a goalie goes down in a butterfly save. That’s a lot of territory.
The other item that the NHL is cracking down on is stick length for goalies, mandating a maximum length of 26 inches for goaltenders 6’5” or shorter.
Up-and-coming Senators goalie Robin Lehner, who has used a 28-inch stick for years, explained to InGoal Magazine’s Kevin Woodley that the change had thrown off his positioning a little:

You balance a little on your stick. When I feel it touch the ice, I know that I am in my right stance. And now all of a sudden I don’t touch the ice, and all of a sudden it throws my balance off. It throws a little bit of everything off. It might not sound like a big deal, but it’s different.
When I was younger I had big problem with bending over too much and I was getting beat high a lot, and then when I got over here I started changing paddle height and got more upright, a new stance that has just really been working for me. And now all of a sudden … when you change the stick, you change your balance and your stance.

It’s a story that also shows the difference between a rule being in the books and a rule being enforced. The NHL has had the goalie stick rule in the book, but sent out a memo warning teams that players were now going to be forced to abide by it.

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Removal of the “Attainable Pass”
Players can no longer get an A for effort on icing plays. In the past, a linesman had the discretion to wave off icing not only when a player at center (or further) touched the puck, but also when he could have touched the puck but for some reason did not.
In the story linked above, NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell told NHL.com that icings per game could rise by 50 percent or more going forward.
Given that a team which ices the puck cannot change lines, often keeping a tired unit out in the defensive zone, that’s the kind of shift that could subtly increase scoring.