OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Nebraska -- The 55th Wing Equal Opportunity office was recently named the 2015 Col. L. Joseph Brown Award winner as the best equal opportunity program in the U.S. Air Force.
The Col. L. Joseph Brown Award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional accomplishments related to the social actions program and mission by the Manpower Personnel and Service Annual Awards Program.
“This didn’t surprise me at all,” said Col. Marty Reynolds, 55th Wing commander. “Our EO office continually comes up with new initiatives and they are trend setters across the command. What an awesome honor for them and it couldn’t have been more deserved.”
The 55th Wing EO office is comprised of five fulltime staff members. This includes three active duty members and two civil servants.
And while they have been named the top EO office in Air Combat Command on two occasions, this is the first time they’ve earned the Air Force award.
“Greatly surprised, but very pleased,” said Randy White, 55th Wing EO chief, on his reaction when hearing they had won the award. “The selection was a confirmation of the outstanding support the staff provides to wing and tenant customers throughout the year to enhance personnel’s overall human relations climate.”
More than 100 other EO offices across the Air Force competed for the award, but the Fightin’ Fifty-Fifth’s EO office’s approach helped them rise above their counterparts.
“The Equal Opportunity program as a whole, has evolved from a reactive posture to a proactive program,” White said. “Past perceptions from many leaders and personnel thought of EO as an optional program. At Offutt, it was important for me to take the installation commander’s EO program and ‘rebrand’ it by showing that EO is mission essential; not just an option.”
White said they helped make this change by going through three phases. First, they developed an EO strategic plan to specifically define their mission, analysis and vision. Next, they reorganized to ensure personnel assigned to Offutt would have access to a quality human relations and diversity management program. Finally, they transitioned from a complaint focus to a communication focused program.
“On behalf of the staff, I thank senior leadership for having faith and confidence in the EO program and for providing 100 percent support to my staff for all endeavors that aid in making the human relations climate better in each unit, on and off the installation,” White said.
In addition to the rebrand, the EO office also set the standard for other offices across the Air Force to follow.
They helped reinforce the wingmen culture by directing the base’s Prevention of Sexual Harassment Program. Overall they supported 12 units and 17 commander’s calls reaching more than 2,500 members across Team Offutt.
Considered field experts by Air Combat Command, they were hand-picked to brief A1Q on their Alternate Dispute Resolution program, which in-turn became the model adopted across the major command.
In addition, the team’s education program briefed more than 1,700 people during fiscal year 2015, which resulted in zero EO incidents on the installation.
Finally, during the 2015 Unit Effectiveness Inspection, the EO office had 25 of their programs benchmarked and earned two of two outstanding performer and team recognitions.
Of course, these are just a few highlights of what EO did in 2015. At the end of the day, White said the EO team just wants to ensure everyone at Team Offutt is afforded every opportunity to have a successful career in the military.
“We believe every person has the ability to take stumbling blocks that exist within their units and turn them into stepping stones through the use of enhanced and effective communication,” he said.