President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces - Essay Example

Freedom to Serve: The President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces Diversity in the armed forces can lead to more benefits than demerits. Therefore, it is important to promote it through the possible means. It leads to better performance when it comes to innovation which is needed when carrying out military duties. Diversity in the armed forces does not mean the social justice as many of the people usually interpret it. It chiefly implies the process of ensuring that the armed forces is improved to a greater detail so that quality services are provided. Indeed, security is an issue that every nation that is focused in development ought to invest. Diversity is a vital component of a free and multiracial civilization. Usually, in the military context entails cohesion and effectiveness (Vroman, 1994). Wherever peace prevails, development thrives well. In addition to that, diversity in the armed forces further involves a case whereby the workforce is comprised of individuals from diverse upbringings, dissimilar hominid potentials and varied ethnic assemblages. In the American military, this simply means that there are variances in stage, sex, race and also the somatic capabilities included in the team (Billington, 1966). In order to explain the concept of diversity, a case of the United States of America armed forces is used as example. This is among the forces in the world that have portrayed exemplary service to the world. It is therefore important to study the underlying reasons for this success and relate it to diversity (Billington, 1966). The armed forces of USA consist of the following teams: the air force, the army, marine, corps and the navy. In addition, there are three broad categories of the teams in the fortified militaries of USA. These are the people on active duty, reserve and guard forces and the veterans. This team is controlled by the head of state of USA, who is the commander in chief. This is the only person who bears all the responsibilities of making the final decisions regarding the missions that are undertaken the American forces (Billington, 1966). The concern for better military service encourages the establishment of the all-volunteer force that is prominent in America. This first took place in 1973 when the draft for military service was brought to a halt. At that time, the active portion of the armed forces comprises 2.2 million men and women. Today, this number is much reduced to 1.29 million. It is important to look into the underlying facts pertaining this population, which form just 0.5 percent of the overall populace of the US (“Fostering Diversity and Inclusion with Respectful Leadership”, 2013). Despite serving in major conflicts in the America history of war, a rule that promotes segregation decreased the number of the African Americans to the second position soldiers and citizens for almost one hundred and seventy years. The nation was engulfed in a state of racial tension and this was supported by many claims of police animosity and brutality. The armed forces of the United States of America have tried to maintain a good image in the public by ensuring that there is diversity in all its operations (O’Brien and Gilbert, 2013). This is a move that has been aimed at avoiding the worst scenarios that the other state departments have found themselves in. There are dimensions that make up this diversity in the forces. They are broadly categorized as primary and secondary. The primary aspects are the ones that are inborn. For instance, age, gender and race of a person that serves in the armed forces. These factors greatly influence the way a person lives in the course of executing duties in the military (O’Brien and Gilbert, 2013). Within the military setting, different people have portrayed diverse experiences because of the variations and diversity that thrives. For instance, a veteran of the war from Japan may encounter a certain form of treatment from his or her colleagues because of the impacts that the war has imparted on his or her live. Furthermore, a woman who escaped death in the course of war may be highly regarded with ultimate respect since he or she had a particular experience which is presumed to be a difficult one. On the other hand, secondary dimensions are seen as the characteristics that are have varied effects on a person and how they get treated in the work environment (Vroman, 1994). Diversity in the armed can be seen as a factor that has significant contributions in the military operations. It has enabled to promote talent acquisitions. Talent is a key factor in the performance of an organization. When the army gets more diverse, there is a likelihood that the talent is increasingly distributed across the same diversity. However, this requires that the diverse citizenry is understood first before recruiting the people from the diverse groups (Vroman, 1994). Moreover, diversity in the armed forces can encourage the retention of the most valued and hardworking workforce. The members of the military who are hardworking can get the chance to stay and consequently other people can also be encouraged to stay. This can be seen as a motivating factor from another viewpoint (Vroman, 1994). As the army recruits people from diverse regions, demographic evolution is fostered. The people who are recruited serve and also defend the same population. The understanding of the diverse communities will make the country avail new opportunities and also support the youth in their preparation in life. Diversity in the armed forces serves as a good example to the other countries where the forces serve. For instance, American military forces are used around the whole world in executing important missions. Through the assimilation of the diverse people in the team, the credibility of keeping peace has been enhanced. This takes the shape of non-ethnic and multiracial composition. In order to encourage diversity in the armed forces, there is need to target the groups that have a less share in the armed forces. During the recruitment process, the numbers should be considered keenly so that the problem areas are pointed out easily for an action to be taken (Robillard, n.d.). Another way of promoting diversity is through education and leadership. This eliminates any chances of divisiveness. People should be educated that the world is moving beyond the divisive agenda and affirmative action. In these days of positive diversity, there is need to move beyond the attitude of special treatment which is associated with affirmative action (Brickman, 1985). However, the opposition to diversity in the armed forces still exist despite the anticipated benefits that will accrue to a nation that observes this. For instance, there are those people who claim that the initiatives on diversity may impact the military readiness in a negative way. In addition, some think that the merit-oriented system of the armed forces could be harmed by the encouragement of diversity. This is justified though the following popular argument, that demographic targets are highly prioritized, leaving aside the concern about performance criteria (Brickman, 1985). To some extent, objection raised towards diversity is agreeable. Truly, there are some elite units that really need specific groups of people to serve there. For example, the unique mission may demand the exclusion of the people who are physically unfit. Additionally, the education level of an individual matters a lot as far as military deployments are concerned. In conclusion, diversity in the armed forces should be promoted because it has many benefits as far as service to the nation and the entire world is concerned. Even though there are scenarios that really demand the service of special groups of people in the community, there is need to ensure that at least every community is represented. This not only promotes patriotism but also eliminates chances of occurrence of community conflicts. When one particular community is represented in the armed forces, there is a tendency that they may brag to the other communities that they are more superior to them. References Billington, M. (1966). Freedom to Serve: The President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Forces, 1949-1950. The Journal of Negro History, 51(4), 262-274. doi:10.2307/2716101 Brickman, J. F. (1985). USAWC (United States Army War College) Military Studies Program Paper. The Development of the American General Staff: 1880 to 1920. doi:10.21236/ada157503 Department of defense Washington DC. (1970). Report to the President and the Secretary of Defense on the Department of Defense by the Blue Ribbon Defense Panel. doi:10.21236/ada013261 Fostering Diversity and Inclusion with Respectful Leadership. (2013). doi:10.13007/165 Moore, N., Cox, A., Grammich, C., & Mele, J. (2017). Improving the Air Force Small-Business Performance Expectations Methodology. doi:10.7249/rr1545 O’Brien, L. T., & Gilbert, P. N. (2013). Ideology: An Invisible yet Potent Dimension of Diversity. Oxford Handbooks Online. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199736355.013.0008 Robillard, R. (n.d.). Defense, Secretary office. Encyclopedia of Military Science. doi:10.4135/9781452276335.n145 Vroman, H. W. (1994). Differences That Work: Organizational Excellence Through Diversity Differences That Work: Organizational Excellence Through Diversity Edited by Gentile Mary C., Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. 1994 – 282 pages, hardcover, $29.95. Academy of Management Perspectives, 8(3), 107-108. doi:10.5465/ame.1994.9503101213 Read More