The Force Multiplier of the Human Dimension in U.S. Army Aviation
Abstract
Racial and ethnic minority officers play a critical role in the U.S. Army's pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). In turn, DEI promotes adaptive and cohesive teams in support of the nation's national security objectives. As racial and ethnic minority officers are joining support branches at increased numbers, combat branches, especially U.S. Army aviation, are proportionally less diverse. To counter this undesirable trend, the U.S. Army must examine ways to recruit and retain highly qualified racial and ethnic minority officers equitably across all branches. This thesis aims to identify which U.S. Army policies should be revised to better engender diversity and maximize combat effectiveness within the aviation branch by best supporting the recruitment and retention of racial and ethnic minority aviation officers. Using a qualitative research step-by-step approach, analysis of the evaluation criteria found that adopting policies which reduce structural and perceptual barriers and encourage cross-racial mentorship ultimately enhances recruitment initiatives and pipeline progression of highly qualified minority officers. These findings suggest that the U.S. Army has written policies that support racial and ethnic minority officers, however, a coalition of leaders must still emphasize the importance of diversity among the force to garner the full benefit of these policies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 18, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1157369
Entities
People
- Nicole L. Kruse
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College