Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on April 9 announced interim steps to counter extremism in the ranks following Defense Department-wide standdowns to discuss the issue, including updating DOD guidance on what defines extremist behavior and updating questionnaires that prospective service members take. In the ...
While Airmen and civilians in Air Force Materiel Command are generally aware of steps the command is taking to improve diversity and inclusion, there are still shortfalls in overall awareness of the issues and a perception that some will face reprisals if they make equal ...
When Department of the Air Force leaders in December ordered comprehensive reviews of all organizational heraldry, symbology, awards, mottos, and more, to identify issues that might impede their drive toward increased diversity and inclusion, they gave commanders 60 days to make any necessary changes. Anything ...
The Department of the Air Force’s new Office of Diversity and Inclusion is using the findings of the Air Force Inspector General’s 2020 Independent Racial Disparity Review and the framework the office used during its time as a task force to mold its future efforts, ...
The Department of the Air Force on Jan. 11 officially stood up its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, according to a Feb. 2 release. The office’s job is to cultivate an “equitable environment for all Department of the Air Force personnel” by finding and fixing ...
While the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building happened thousands of miles away from his office at Osan Air Base, South Korea, 7th Air Force Commander and U.S. Forces Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus said the event’s aftershocks still were felt ...
Female Airmen and Guardians will soon be able to let their hair down—at least a little. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. recently approved a recommendation by the Air Force uniform board to allow women to wear their hair in one ...
The Department of the Air Force recently rolled out two policy changes aimed at holding commanders more accountable for climate-related deficiencies and disciplinary equity within their units. The first requires commanders with low diversity and inclusion-related scores to develop a plan to remedy those shortcomings. ...
Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett, USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond have instructed commanders to review every visual symbol, phrase, and other form “of unit recognition and identity” to ...
Change is coming to make the Department of the Air Force a more diverse, equitable place—but it won't happen overnight, the four-star generals in charge of the Air Force and Space Force said in a Dec. 22 town hall on racism and discrimination. “Shame on ...
The nonprofit Blue Star Families on Dec. 16 debuted a million-dollar Racial Equity Initiative to diversify the military- and veteran-service organization communities and ensure that military families of color feel connected, included, and as though they belong.
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be his Defense Secretary, the transition team announced Dec. 8. Austin, who left the military in 2016 as the four-star head of U.S. Central Command, would be the first-ever Black man to ...