CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) recognized an NCO from the West Virginia Army National Guard with its 2020 “NOVA Exceptional Military Victim Advocate Award” April 1.
Master Sgt. Michael Cochran, a Victim Advocate and operations NCO with the111th Engineer Brigade, headquartered in Eleanor, W.Va., said he draws from his personal experience as a child sexual abuse victim to reach Soldiers in his work as a VA.
“I never told anyone I was molested until I was about 40 years old,” he said. “I decided to try to make something good come out what happened to me because that was the only way I could deal with it.”
Sharing his story publicly, including during SHARP training to units, helps other victims, including other men, come forward and talk about their own experiences, he said.
Cochran said sexual assault in the military absolutely destroys a unit, killing the morale of everyone in it, from the person assaulted to the other members of the unit who no longer feel safe nor trust their fellow Soldiers.
“It’s a cancer that goes from the inside out,” Cochran said.
Cochran also founded the Cycling Out Sexual Assault Annual Ride for Awareness, a bike ride from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about sexual assault. It is open to the military and the public.
He will be recognized for his work on behalf of service members at NOVA’s 46th Annual Training Event, scheduled virtually for July 27-30, 2020