Diversity has become a big part of the makeup of the modern fighting force in our armed forces that protect our country today. Whether it is diversity among gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation all of these categories along with others have had to overcome a certain level of obstacles in order to honorably serve their country. Although it has been some time since President Harry S. Truman officially desegregated the military it has been only in the last few years that homosexuals are allowed to openly serve and women have been inducted into certain fighting units that were strictly male because of the danger in some of their operations in the battlefield. There was a time in the not too distant past when the military was primarily white males that fought for our freedoms.
Today our society is a very different landscape than that of our fathers and grandfathers. Today inclusion of people in all areas no matter the differences that separate them is becoming the norm not the exception. Today’s military is starting to become a leader in this thinking. Blueprints of how to lead diverse organizations are starting to make their way throughout varying organizations and businesses around the world. The order of business performed today is that the best, brightest and most qualified individuals should be the most sought after no matter what may separate them. Recently even transgender recruits or those currently serving that believe they are not the right gender are not becoming disqualified from serving. This thinking isn’t without controversy or debate but it is up to those in the leadership positions to recognize that a factor such as this is not going to take away from one’s ability to perform on a high level.
The military has entrance requirements like “age, citizenship, financial status, education level, substance use, language skills, moral conduct, physical fitness, and other qualifications” (Haddad,2012) but they are not hindering the numbers of diverse recruits that are making up the ranks of our military. Over the last three decades there have also been periods of force drawdowns that has not affected the diverse makeup of the armed forces either. A study conducted by the RAND National Defense Research Institute found that “Despite major reductions in the size of the active-duty force in all four services in the 1990s, demographic diversity generally increased.” and “Although the Navy and Air Force reduced their active-duty forces in the mid-2000s, demographic diversity of those forces generally increased between fiscal years 2001 and 2011”(Lytell, 2015). These indications just prove that no matter what changes in the country are taking place the military and organizations that are fashioning their own organizations in the mold of diversity are not being affected by policy changes.
In conclusion I think that no matter the reflection our society is revealing, those in leadership positions need to recognize and change with that reflection.
References:
Lytell, M. C., & National Defense Research Institute (U.S.). (2015). Force drawdowns and demographic diversity: Investigating the impact of force reductions on the demographic diversity of the U.S. military. Santa Monica, Calif: RAND Corporation. doi:10.7249/j.ctt19w726n
Haddad, A., Rand Corporation, & Rand Center on Quality Policing. (2012). Increasing organizational diversity in 21st-century policing: Lessons from the U.S. military. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., Moran, S. V., & Harris, P. R. (2014). Managing cultural differences (Ninth ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
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