Diversity stressed for civilians

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker
  • Air Force Print News
As the Air Force takes the first steps toward transforming the way it develops its civilian employees, its leaders are stressing the importance of diversity in the workplace.

Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche said ensuring diversity in the work force is much more than a legal obligation or correction of historical injustices.

"It is a warfighting and readiness issue," Roche said. "Unless we are able to recruit and, more importantly, retain a remarkably diverse group of people, the Air Force will fail to realize the full potential of its work force and air and space capabilities."

The Air Force must tap into the creativity and innovation provided by the rich cultural diversity of this nation in order to retain its unparalleled edge in air and space power development, he said.

Force development, the new approach being taken by the service, seeks to equip Air Force people with the necessary education, training and experience to become future Air Force leaders, according to personnel officials.

"The objective of force development is to provide all civilians with the developmental opportunities to be competitive for career advancement if they aspire to it," said Roger M. Blanchard, assistant deputy chief of staff for personnel at the Pentagon. "It also provides developmental opportunities to those people who don't aspire to move up the corporate Air Force ladder but instead prefer to become even more competent and successful in the jobs they've chosen to do."

Roche echoed those sentiments, emphasizing that one of the keys to this new approach is diversity.

"The true source of our air and space capability resides not in our systems but rather in our military and civilian airmen," the secretary said. "A work force that captures the rich diversity of thought, creativity, education, culture, and problem solving in America is an important aspect of our civilian force development construct."

Therefore, Air Force senior leaders are committed to providing their workforce with the professional development needed to give the service a quality edge second to none, he added.

Professional development is not something new to the civilian work force, Blanchard said. The Air Force has had a system in place for many years to help guide civilians along their career paths.

However, the goal of force development is to create a deliberate and tailored approach to professional development for people instead of relying on the one-size-fits-all approach used today, Blanchard said.

"This will allow us to better meet not only the Air Force's needs but also the needs and desires of our people," he said. "It's a win-win situation."

Civilian force development will grow Air Force leaders with a broader understanding of the service's capabilities and how to apply them, Blanchard said. For some civilians, this may mean a combination of advanced academic education and exposure to professional military education.

Air Force personnel officials have avoided creating an entire PME structure solely for civilians, Blanchard said. Instead, they prefer to have civilians attend the same PME as the military to encourage interaction and understanding between the two groups. "This interaction with and understanding of the military is beneficial, especially as civilians progress through the ranks and perform their duties," he said. "It also leads to a better integration of the force."

If the Air Force can integrate the military and civilian components of the force in the same way and with the same success that it had in integrating the active duty and Air Reserve Components, it will create a better total force complement and will increase Air Force capabilities across the board, Blanchard said.