Managing Diversity in the United States Army Essay

Therefore, a neat and wellgroomed appearance by all soldiers is fundamental to the Army and contributes to building the pride and esprit essential to an effective military force. A vital ingredient of the Army’s strength and military effectiveness is the pride and self discipline that American soldiers bring to their Service through a conservative military image. It is the responsibility of commanders to ensure that military personnel

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are a unique institution consisting of a wide cross section of our nation’s population. It is due to this vast representation of cultural and regional upbringings that there lies a requirement for an integration process into military life. In this paper I will discuss some training procedures utilized during my basic recruit school training in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, and the theories and models of psychology and behaviour they were based upon.

Through investigation of Lee’s, “Warfare and Culture in World History”, Chapter 9, titled “The American Culture of War in the Age of Artificial War (Adrian Lewis), one can learn the transformation of the American culture through a military perspective. This chapter provides readers with an in depth look into the traditional culture of war and how it transforms into a more advanced, refined, futuristic culture. We learn how the psychology, sociology, beliefs, concerns, approaches, and connections to the community are all altered through the change in culture. It is explained that despite the

Roughly 200,000 "colored" men and their 7,000 white officers comprised the US Colored Troops during the Civil War (United States Colored Troops Institute, n.d.). It is widely known that President Lincoln vastly underestimated the resolve and strength of the southern states in their attempt for secession from the Union. President Lincoln would prepare for a "minor insurrection" by blockading Confederate Ports and calling for 75,000 volunteers. (McRae, 1995) Many blacks rushed to enlist in the Union Army but were turned away due to a Federal law dating from 1792 that barred "Negroes" from bearing arms for the U.S. Army (U.S. National Archives & Records Administration [NARA], n.d.). An appeal went out to the Governor of Ohio, David Todd, who rejected the idea by stating President's Lincoln position that, "this is a White man's government and that they were able to defend and protect it". (McRae, 1995)

The United States Army is a gigantic institute with an international presence. One of its fundamental sources of power is the diversity of its personnel, which includes 1.6 million workforce across the active, reserve, civilian, and contractor parts. While the Army was at the vanguard of ethnic incorporation in the 1950s and at present is one of the most assorted institutes in the U.S., further advancement must be made on the diversity front. The term "diversity" can be classified along countless aspects; this paper concentrates on racial diversity since the exceptional and traditionally important role that race has in matters of diversity in the Army. Internal communications concerning delegate leadership throughout the force, the Army sketches power from its cultural and racial diversity.

The United States army started in 1775 with only a group of volunteer fighters who opposed against the rule and the oppression of the British. (Hogan 2005) The U.S army is still an all-volunteer fighting force today defending and defeating enemy threats to the United States. Since the creation of the U.S army it has built on tradition and honor for its country and willing to defend the constitution for more than two and a half century. Learning the culture of the United States Army will help give people an understanding of the people who serve in the army as well as learn what shaped the army today.

The United States military is often described as a melting pot. That mixture of race, religion, culture and age carries strength along with it, strength that could not be achieved by any one alone. Defined by Rue and Byars diversity in the workforce is “including people of different genders, races, religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, age groups and physical abilities.” (Rue and Byars, pg) Management is described as the ability to allocate resources to achieve the company’s objective and mission. One of the most important resources in any organization is the employees, the members who make up the organization. A strong sense of diversity within the ranks is a force multiplier when implementing missions. The military has grown with the changing times in our country; from civil rights to women’s rights and war on terror. A well-known example of utilizing diversity in the military occurred during WWII when the Marine Corps and Army used Navajo Indians as code talkers in the Pacific Theater. A group of 24 men maintained a secure line of communication for the forces. “By recognizing and utilizing something unique within the fabric of Americana, the military identified a means to transmit secret messages in a code our enemies could never break.”(Marin, 2009) Military organizations such as 9th Communications takes great strides to ensure diversity is present. Diversity is found in low ranks, as well as extending to the high ranked

The Army now has the additional task of teaching new soldiers the concept of being an effective member of a team. In the past there children were taught to believe in the American Dream, a concept that as an American you will not be impeded by the government to succeed in carving out a successful life for you and your family. Over time, this idea was twisted into a concept that each American should be provided with success simply by being an American. To Quote JFK “It’s not what your country do for you but what you can do for the country”. To understand that life does not owe you anything and the only way to get the thigs you want is to work hard for something bigger than the individual, know falls on the shoulders of the army leader.

After fifteen and a half years later, I am in a position with the United States Air Force in which I can effectively influence the organizational behavior. As a senior non-commissioned officer (SNCO) I can teach, grow, and mentor a great number of very young people that make the choice to enter our ranks. With nearly 650,000 total force personnel, you can imagine the diversity that must be embraced. To fully discuss diversity within the military, we would be here much longer than this assignment allows. For today, I am going to hone in on the individual differences and intelligence.

In the various branches of the military, recruits and other participants come from different levels of culture and society. The goal of training units becomes merging divergent trainees into a useful and cohesive team. A great deal of this is based in psychology (Baldor, 2012). A recruit that does not obey orders, keep standards, or

Working in a joint military environment means understanding what is and is not acceptable behavior. Our Nation’s challenge forces the military to interact and work with different foreign military is to understand the cultural or social system from the country they are operating. To achieve this, today’s soldiers must have and develop an understanding of cross-cultural competency and over time, master the skills to become more successful in these environments. According to the United States Army FM 3-24.2, Tactics in Counterinsurgency (extract), cross-cultural competences are “the set of systems of shared belief, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of a society use to cope with their world and one another” . One of the tools

Throughout history, leadership has always been one of the cornerstones contributing to the success of the United States military. Whether in a Garrison or a combat environment, the applicability and level of effectiveness of leadership can be rooted to the resources made available to leaders. To form a clear comparison of garrison and combat leadership; mission and responsibilities must be taken in consideration. A common leadership responsibility, in both garrison and combat environments, is improving the efficiency and development of Soldiers. Utilizing the Army’s Leaders Development Model, the three domains of institutional, operational, and self-development can be used to gauge the comparison.

The culture and climate of a well-disciplined unit will show apparent by strong core values and attributes displayed by its unit members. It all starts with the recruiter and potential applicant. Recruiting and processing qualified applicants with good moral values and strong character traits is where it starts. In addition, Basic Combat Training (BCT) needs to build upon character development, focus on strong leadership traits and instill the core values of the Army. The Army needs “standard bearers” and not Soldiers and Leaders, who choose the easy wrong over the hard right. Providing proper training and honest feedback will create competence in our military ethnics. We need Soldiers and Leaders of strong character that will teach,

Situational organization propels from different segments. The key nations among them are the measure of heading in addition, bearing and the measure of social and excited sponsorship that we give our Soldiers. Our subordinates conventionally show assorted levels of status in performing specific errands or limits, dependent upon their knowledge, capacity, and experience. Moreover, Soldiers change in accordance with a couple of differing fan change levels, as demonstrated by their improvement and ability to administer themselves in the unit

Arguably one of the most important assets to a Military is Cultural awareness, this paper will