Status of Senior Service School Program



Purpose: Provide “Service Brief” at the 2016 ANSO Eastern Region Symposium / Strategic Meeting / National Latina Symposium. Remarks will come after a one hour speed mentoring session and precede a Service Brief Service Brief from MajGen Padilla, U.S. Marine Corps (standing in for Gen Neller).Key Message: Role of ANSO in recruiting and retaining diverse talent / coordinated efforts.Duration: 45 minutes for remarks and optional Q&A.OPENINGGood Morning! [Extemporaneous Greetings]What a great speed mentoring session. It is clear everyone in this room understands building a diverse and inclusive workforce is not a spectator sport. You know it’s important to take time out of our schedules to come to events like this. To share ideas. Discuss issues. Participate in the mentoring sessions. And, most importantly, to take the time not only today but tomorrow… and the day after that… when you are back to the daily grind. How you spend your time is a direct reflection of your priorities. And being here indicates to me that you all have your priorities right. So, I challenge you– what are you going to do tomorrow, back at your unit, to make an impact? How will you actively engage our next generation of leaders? How will you play this contact sport? I ask, because building a more diverse and inclusive workforce is not only the right thing to do, it’s the only thing to do. And I need your help.This is the 21st Century, folks! Simply put, an organization that lacks diversity falls short. Short on innovation. Short on ideas. Short on effectiveness. Without a doubt, an organization that doesn’t value diversity and inclusion will fail to keep pace in today’s world. Just look at the list of Fortune 500 companies in 1955 and today - only 65 from 1955 still exist today. That’s only 12%. What happened to the rest? At some point they became obsolete. Those that remain, evolved. SEA STORY / HISTORY: I graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1977 (I hope you didn’t think I was going to say 1955!). Although minorities and women can proudly trace their traditions back to our Service’s infancy as lighthouse keepers or on Revenue Cutters, diversity and inclusion in the Coast Guard was still paltry in 1977. During my very first command as a LTJG in 1979 on the 95’ Cape Upright, a young, high performing Seaman wanted to qualify as a Quartermaster. I approved his request and told the Chief to add him to the watch bill. The Chief’s response has stuck with me to this day. “We don’t want those people on the bridge,” he said. That Seaman was African American. Sadly, the same sort of thing happened to Hispanic Americans. To Asian-Pacific Americans. To women. To anyone who didn’t look just like that white Chief.BIASI’m thankful to say our Service has come a long way from the ‘70s. I would like to believe incidents as blatant as that don’t exist in today’s Coast Guard – but I would be wrong to view our world through rose colored glasses. I am well aware that, despite our many advances, problems still exist – discrimination has no place in our Coast Guard. Not too long ago, I read the article See No Bias and, also, the book The Hidden Brain, both written by Shankar Vedantam. Mr. Vedantam focuses much of his work on the way unconscious biases influence people. Everything from who we vote for to how we invest can be influenced by this “hidden,” or unconscious part of our brain. I highly recommend giving these a read. He’s also got a podcast if that’s more your medium. See No Bias cites studies that highlight the unconscious biases of some of the most determined civil rights advocates. Despite the fact that they fight daily against bias and discrimination, tests show that even they have racial biases. Interestingly, some even tested to have biases within their own “group.” For example, women would indicate bias against women, etc. The thing about the unconscious bias is that no one is immune. Not in the Coast Guard. Not in the Navy. Not in the Marine Corps. Not the folks in this room. Knowing we have these biases. Knowing they are part of the reality we deal with – even in today’s more enlightened world - we must do all we can to address them head on. The big question is…how?INITIATIVES / UPDATESIn the Coast Guard we are working to systematically address and eliminate the effects of unconscious bias. Last year I signed an update to the Coast Guard’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan (DISP), which included a requirement for a Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM). That POAM, released last month, sets the roadmap to coordinate efforts for the effective implementation of our key diversity efforts. Executing this roadmap will require engaged leadership and participation from all key stakeholders, including affinity groups like ANSO.To get there, we are reinvigorating the LEAD (Leadership, Excellence, and Diversity) Council and will be working closely with our Leadership and Diversity Councils (LDACs). These councils will be utilized to implement many of the initiatives in the POAM. Our Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, Vice Admiral Stosz is the Executive Champion of the LEAD Council and is planning a meeting in October to strengthen communications and program coordination. I’m pleased to report this important task is in the right hands and I look forward to the Council’s update.In the Coast Guard we are also actively building out a training program with a more broad understanding of “diversity.” Diversity is everything that makes us different, yet if you say that word – “diversity” - most people think race… gender… sexual orientation… so it becomes a minority issue. But it’s not a minority issue. It’s an everybody issue. Our training will encourage open, frank conversations. Remember what I said - this is a contact sport. It’s about getting out there, face to face. It’s about knowing each other and learning new perspectives. Discussing hard topics like unconscious bias. Helping us understand and acknowledge our own biases. New training resources that will be rolled out to our LDACs are designed with this in mind. These initiatives are critically important as we build our 21st Century work force.RECRUITINGOn the recruiting front, the competition for top talent is on the rise. I saw this first-hand when I visited Silicon Valley. Facebook, Tesla, Google… These companies, and others just like them, are seeking out the best and the brightest. They are working hard to draw in and retain the very top talent. Just like we are.The good news is, young Americans continue to show steady interest in military service – despite these Silicon Valley options. There was a Military Times article not too long ago (“The Pentagon keeps data on millennials. This is what it says”) that explains that the mission is what motivates young talent. It’s about the desire to be a part of something bigger than self. The Coast Guard met our elevated recruiting target this year. But next year, our need is even greater (up from 3750 to 4250). As a group, we need to do all we can to position the Coast Guard to attract and retain top talent. Without question - the Coast Guard is hiring! And everyone is a recruiter. Every one of our 88,000 active duty, reservists, civilians and auxiliary members is a recruiter, and I am encouraged by the team’s innovative approaches. Just over a week ago I was with our Coast Guard Auxiliarists at their National Convention. Our Auxiliary is in places our active duty recruiters are not, giving them an invaluable role in building a diverse Coast Guard of tomorrow – and they are doing just that! They continue to work with the Academy Introduction Mission (AIM) program which ‘discovers’ about 40% of the students for incoming Academy classes. One Auxiliary flotilla even formed a sub-unit manned entirely by high schoolers! I can’t help but look at these impressive youngsters… and at our new recruits at Cape May… at our Academy Swabs and think – these are our next pilots; our next inspectors; or our next cyber specialists! The one thing that is clear, we are going to have to recruit, train, and retain a diverse group of specialized individuals – and we are going to have to fend off the private industry while doing so. Our minority serving institutions pay dividends too. I’ve personally engaged more than 7 MSIs. A new instruction should be making its way to my office shortly, formalizing our Minority Serving Institution Program and setting clear expectations for similar engagements from my senior leaders with MSIs in their AORs. The talent is out there….we just need to go out and get it.And of course, your work has been invaluable. This year ANSO members from the DC Chapter mentored 75 interns from Hispanic Serving Institutions and LCDR Ray Caro currently serves on the Alumni Advisory Council for Florida International University, promoting the CSPI program. Great job Ray!ANSO members from the Houston Chapter were also busy. CDR Rod Rios, LT Brian Brownlee, and MST1 turned ENS Steve Conde collectively reached over 1000 at-risk and minority youth during events like "Pilots & Professionals in Schools,” "Universal Elite Aerospace," and during Sector Houston-Galveston's "Lunch and Learn” program. Even though we’re challenged to meet our recruiting goals, our incredible teamwork is making a difference where it counts.At the Coast Guard Academy, the classes of 2018 and 2019 are nearly 33 % minority and 38 % women - the highest level of racial and gender diversity in its 150-year history! The other Academy’s are showing promising trends as well. Likewise, our Coast Guard enlisted and warrant workforces have solid foundations at 27% minority members and 21% women. Both our junior officer and enlisted workforces today are the most diverse in our history. We need to keep these positive trends going.RETENTIONWhile we enjoy successes in bringing diversity into our accession points – getting this talent into the service is just the first step. It’s all for naught if we aren’t focused on developing and keeping today’s best and brightest. The Plans I referenced earlier (the DISP and POAM) both take a look at systematically addressing retention. Our Diversity and Inclusion Staff is working with the Personnel Service Center and other stakeholders to analyze our policies to determine impacts on retention. The new “blended retirement” plan, for example, is an area of uncertainty that will likely impact retention. The staff is also working to formalize exit interviews. Understanding why it is that people choose to leave is vital to improving retention.But in the end, our organizations must continue to embrace a culture that values the power of diversity. All of our people, from any background and any walk of life, should feel welcome, respected, and valued in the military. We know that participation with affinity groups like ANSO enhances retention. So, next time you come to an ANSO event, bring someone along with you. Collectively, we need to ensure our junior members can see themselves growing in our organizations. In my guidance to officer selection boards and panels, I emphasized the importance of not only diversity, but creating a culture of inclusion where we place value on those who dedicate themselves to influencing their people in a positive manner. Specifically, I stated my value in officers who have taken on a leadership role in these areas and my expectation that board and panel members do the same. Our junior members need role models. And if those role models are members of their same race or gender – if they can look up and see someone like them - our junior folks can literally see a strong future of the organization. Currently in the Coast Guard, 43 minority officers hold command positions. That represents approximately 12% of the available CO jobs. So, yes, our most junior members can look at those officers, but you and I know that COs are not the only role models in our Services. In addition to being recruiters, I think of every person in this room is a role model. So make yourself visible. Accessible. And as you continue to grow in our organization, turn around and reach back – bring someone along with you. MOVING FORWARDDeveloping a diverse and inclusive workforce is center stage for me for the duration of my term. I released my Human Capital Strategy in January of this year. This strategy is on par with my other 4 strategies. Critical to its success – we must attract, develop, and retain a respectful, diverse, and inclusive workforce that reflects the richness of our society.I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - our ships, our planes, our boats – they are all hollow without our people. And, don’t forget. When we are talking about our most valuable asset – our people – we cannot just be spectators…When I became Commandant, I knew this was going to be one of my toughest yet most important initiatives. I knew nothing would be solved overnight – that it would take time, commitment, and hard work… So, let’s continue to work together to innovatively address our challenges and keep our positive momentum going! Thank you for your time, your commitment, your hard work. And most importantly, thank you for helping us build a truly diverse and dynamic 21st-century workforce in our Naval Services that draws upon the richness of all Americans. ................
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