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 MILLINGTON,
Tenn. - The Navy prides itself on being a top diversity employer,
and in the past several years, has increased its efforts to improve
diversity outreach, awareness, and recruiting.
Diversity
allows for a stronger, talented work force, and outreach in
recruiting increases the number of individuals with whom recruiters
may connect to discuss Navy opportunities.
According to Ty
Fitzgerald, PRISM Media Relations, the Navy Strategic Diversity
Working Group earned the Association of Diversity Council's number
one ranking in 2013 amongst notable competitors such as American
Airlines, which ranked number two; Boeing, number five; General
Motors, number nine; and FedEx Freight, 20.
There are approximately 323,000 sailors in today's Navy. They
serve around the world, each having been trained in their area of
expertise. Many speak several languages. Many have higher education
or civilian work experiences that contribute to the talent that
makes our Navy the best in the world.
Today's Sailors join from all walks of life, education,
and cultural backgrounds. They bring new thoughts and ideas,
working together to create a kind of synergism, said Capt.
Horatio Fernandez, Navy Recruiting Command's diversity
director.
In order to create such a diverse Navy, it
takes a team of highly trained and motivated Sailors and
recruiters whose job is to find the next generation of
leaders. As competition becomes more keen to fill positions
in the fleet, it is important for recruiters to tap into all
available communities and resources to find qualified men
and women to join the Navy's elite team of professionals.
Being a Sailor is no regular job, and recruiting Future
Sailors is no regular task. Recruiters face a variety of
challenges and barriers that societal and cultural norms
have established. It can be difficult to recruit in diverse
communities.
“Many diverse families struggle to
accept a decision to join the Navy,” said Logistics
Specialist 1st Class Cesar Serna, recruiter for Navy
Recruiting District Jacksonville. “Reaching out to
communities and helping them understand the mutual benefit
to joining [the Navy] is where you have to start. It's not
all give, give.”
Awareness is one of the biggest
barriers to diversity recruiting. Many individuals and
families think of military service simply as boots on the
ground warfighting. While this is an important part of
military service, the majority of Navy careers offer much
more technical training and experience, said Serna.
The Navy's diversity outreach program helps increase
awareness within communities that can develop over
generations. Outreach encompasses much more than just
reaching those who may be recruiting eligible. Outreach is a
necessity to plant the seed years before so there is
awareness of our Navy and its mission, the benefits of
service and learning a skill. Reaching younger audiences
early helps establish a better understanding of the Navy
which can then grow into a positive image in that community
over time.
“Diversity outreach helps generations of
recruiters when outreach officers are allowed and encouraged
to open doors within the local communities,” said Navy
Counselor Chief William J. Riley, a Navy city outreach
officer for the southeast region. “It creates personal and
professional connections with key groups and figureheads who
will help advance the Navy's recruiting mission.”
Navy Recruiting Command invests in outreach because it
ultimately supports the recruiting mission. Building and
maintaining relationships with key influencers across
America takes time and diversity outreach supports the
longer-term view.
To support the Navy's recruiting
mission, five diversity officers and an assistant are
assigned to key cities across the United States; from east
to west outreach officers are located in New York, Chicago,
Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles.
Outreach officers
build and maintain relationships with key diversity
organizations. They coordinate events and visits to local
communities in order to create a Navy presence. One of the
key efforts they manage includes using tools like SeaPerch
and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
displays.
SeaPerch is an innovative underwater
robotics program that equips teachers and students with the
resources they need to build an underwater Remotely Operated
Vehicle (ROV) in an in-school or out-of-school setting,
according to the SeaPerch website and the Office of Naval
Research.
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San Diego middle school students present their robotic submarine
during the SeaPerch Fun Challenge at the16th International RoboSub
Competition at the U.S. Navy's research pool on Naval Base Point
Loma on July 26, 2013. The Seaperch Fun Challenge is an underwater
robotics program for middle and high school students to explore and
apply engineering and science concepts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass
Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jasmine Sheard)
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More information on SeaPerch can be found at
http://www.seaperch.org/index.
The emphasis on core STEM subjects allows students and
communities to see the skills and benefits that service in the Navy
has to offer while at the same time, offering the opportunity for
the Navy to learn from local communities how to help with future
recruiting efforts.
”Our diversity outreach gives us unique
views into a number of different local populations,” said Lt. Cmdr.
Michael M. Kerley, the Navy's city outreach officer for the Midwest,
located in Chicago. “As recruiters come and go into the recruiting
force, sometimes they don't know or understand these differences. We
[diversity outreach] can lend our time and experience to help them
fulfill their ultimate goal of being culturally educated, and a
successful recruiter.”
In many ways, Navy diversity outreach
is a lot like college football outreach. Colleges frequently send
their coaches and players out to local public schools as a way to
get their name out there for kids at a young age. This type of
outreach shows the benefits of hard work and a college education,
while at the same time planting a seed for children who in five to
10 years' time, will remember the experience when it is time to
apply to colleges.
Navy recruiters are the coaches and team
players for diversity outreach. It is important for them to
understand the need for their help in outreach events. Outreach
ensures the success of the recruiting mission in the future.
“The long term benefit of our program is the increased possibility
of bringing Americans with various backgrounds and life experiences
into naval service,” said Kerley. “Our outreach efforts and local
interactions may be what makes a person consider serving in the U.S.
Navy.”
By U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Langford
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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