A recent report from the Department of Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion is calling for “aggressive integration” of diversity and inclusion into military department culture, stating that underrepresentation in senior officer ranks persists today.
The Dec. 18 report – “Recommendations to Improve Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion in the U.S. Military” – makes recommendations in six areas: recruitment and accessions; retention; barriers for minorities; career development opportunities; command and organizational climate issues; and the promotion of minority inclusion in military culture.
The 15-member board – comprising military officials and service members – is led by the Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett.
According to the report, the active component enlisted population is slightly more racially and ethnically diverse than the military service-eligible U.S. population – Blacks/African Americans and Hispanics are represented at slightly higher rates. Additionally, officers were significantly less racially and ethnically diverse than the enlisted population.
Dr. Gary Packard Jr., current University of Arizona dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology with more than a decade of involvement in diversity and inclusion affairs at the United States Air Force Academy, said he had been skeptical but found himself pleasantly surprised by the report.
“Having been working in this area for a long time, it is really hard for large bureaucratic organizations like the military or even higher education or the government in general to change policy quickly,” Packard said. “What I liked about it specifically, compared to a lot of policy documents that I have read over my career, it had probably the most proactive tone I have seen in a document related to diversity, inclusion and equity in my career.”
Packard served as the department head of behavioral sciences and leadership at the Academy and was a lead author of the Department of Defense’s study leading to the 2011 repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
