From silence to action. From pain to purpose. Prevent MST exists to protect those who serve.
From silence to action. From pain to purpose. Prevent MST exists to protect those who serve.
I didn’t plan to start an organization. I just can no longer stand idly by and watch people get hurt while the system looks away.
As a veteran and survivor, I’ve seen what silence costs. Prevent MST began as a simple idea: what if we stopped waiting for change and built it ourselves?
This work is about every service member who deserves safety, respect, and a fair chance to serve with dignity.
Prevent MST is my way of giving back to the uniform that shaped me—and making sure the next generation never has to carry the same scars.
(The photo shows three versions of myself—a young girl, a soldier, and the woman I’ve become—walking each other home. A reminder that healing isn’t linear; it’s a journey of returning to ourselves, together.)
— Kat Keturah
Founder, Prevent MST
We believe in a military culture built on discipline, respect, and accountability from day one. Our focus is on proactive education—arming service members with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to set boundaries, intervene when necessary, and uphold the highest standards of conduct. This education is targeted at every service member at every entry point: basic training, officer training school, and military colleges like The Citadel, Kings Point, and West Point. Programs are tailored to rank and age, and reinforced through ongoing instruction that builds on existing pilot efforts in branches like the Navy and Air Force.
In addition to education, we provide real-time data on the likelihood of sexual assault across each branch of the military—ensuring that incoming and active service members are fully informed. We’ve also partnered with a privately run MST map, created by a survivor, that highlights military bases worldwide with higher rates of assault. While base assignments aren’t always optional, this tool can help incoming service members make safer, more informed choices whenever possible.
If an assault has occurred, we offer guidance on how to report it safely, with clear instructions and links to confidential resources.
For those further along in the process, we provide critical tools for understanding VA benefits, including how to navigate the disability rating system—something many survivors aren’t even aware they’re eligible for.
PreventMST is committed to covering every angle—from proactive prevention and education to comprehensive support for survivors—creating lasting change in military culture.
We also offer a petition to fast-track the implementation of this standardized prevention program, along with direct links and ready-to-use templates for contacting senators, representatives, governors, and Department of Defense officials.
Together, we can move beyond empty promises and rely on real data, real reform, and real accountability to ensure that no service member is left behind.
Mission Statement
Meet Our Founder & Director
Kat Keturah is a veteran, author, recording artist, and advocate whose life and work center on transformation — turning pain into purpose and purpose into power.
A former Air Force medic, Kat witnessed firsthand the strength and sacrifice of those who serve — and the silence that too often surrounds them. Out of that experience came Prevent MST, a national initiative she founded to end Military Sexual Trauma through early education, transparency, and survivor-led reform.
Before advocacy found her, Kat was already known across Charleston as “The Darling of Jazz” — a powerhouse vocalist with the grit of the blues and the grace of gospel. Her music, much like her mission, has always been about healing. Whether performing on stage, leading worship, or writing about resilience, Kat uses her voice to bridge the space between hurt and hope.
She’s also the author of the forthcoming memoir Blue Discharge, an unflinching account of survival, silence, and the systemic failures that inspired her life’s work. Her essays and op-eds have been featured in major publications, sparking national conversations on reform, readiness, and the cost of institutional neglect. In addition to her writing, Kat authored a comprehensive congressional proposal outlining actionable reforms to prevent Military Sexual Trauma across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces — now under review by senior defense staff in the United States Senate.
A devoted mother and partner, Kat finds her greatest joy in family — cheering her son at The Citadel, supporting her daughters’ creative pursuits, and loving Ryan’s children with the same ferocity she brings to everything she builds. Once the steward of a thriving eucalyptus and loofah farm, she carries that same belief in sustainability and renewal into every corner of her advocacy.
Through it all, her message remains the same: beauty can grow from anything — even the broken.
Why We Exist
Because too many service members have come home with wounds no uniform can cover.
Because silence has protected predators longer than it’s protected survivors.
Because every promise of honor and integrity should extend behind the wire, too.
Prevent MST exists to stop Military Sexual Trauma before it starts — through education, transparency, and accountability that can’t be buried or spun. We’re here to make sure the next generation serves in a force that lives up to its own values.
This isn’t charity. It’s readiness. It’s national security. It’s the standard we should’ve had all along.
Comprehensive MST Education Program
Comprehensive MST Education Program
Training for Every Member at Every Entry Point
From basic training to officer school to military academies, this program ensures every service member receives the same foundation of respect, awareness, and accountability from day one.
Why It Matters
Military Sexual Trauma (MST) isn’t just a personal tragedy — it’s a national security risk. Over 20,000 service members report assault every year, but independent estimates put the real number closer to 80,000. That’s the size of an entire combat division, injured from within. This training isn’t optional. It’s essential to unit cohesion, morale, and mission readiness.
What’s Included
Mandatory Education Modules
Clear, age- and rank-appropriate lessons on consent, boundaries, bystander intervention, and respect — taught with the same seriousness as weapons handling.
Real Risk Data for Recruits
Service-branch MST data shared up front, not hidden in reports. Recruits acknowledge receipt so no one enters service uninformed.
Integrated Self-Defense Certification
Adds de-escalation, boundary-setting, and MST-specific situational drills into existing combatives — no new gear, no added time, just smarter training.
Digital-First Tools
Secure, mobile-accessible training and reporting options. No more outdated paperwork — just fast, confidential access to help when it’s needed most.
Reinforcement at Every Step
Refresher trainings during PCS, reenlistment, and leadership schools ensure consistency, accountability, and cultural continuity.
Zero-Tolerance Enforcement
Mandatory dishonorable discharge for offenders. No exceptions by rank, branch, or status — Guard, Reserve, or Active Duty.
The Strategic Advantage
This isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s smart readiness.
A projected 5% reduction in MST cases would fully fund the program in its first year. The VA spends over $100 million annually on MST-related care and claims. Even a modest decrease means millions saved, fewer investigations, and stronger, more focused units.
Bottom Line
This program fits seamlessly into existing training structures — no new bureaucracy, no wasted dollars.
It’s not just education. It’s transformation — protecting service members, preventing trauma, and strengthening the force from the inside out.