In response to uprisings following the murder of George Floyd, the Minnesota governor activated thousands of Soldiers across the state. My company spent seven days on state active duty supporting civil authorities in Minneapolis. Much of our time was spent escorting police, fire, and EMS teams, but I am most proud of the small positive impact we were able to make in the community. My soldiers donated their own supplies to pop-up food banks, walked the streets handing out food and water, and connected with community leaders who requested us to patrol certain neighborhoods at night where a trusted security presence was badly needed.
While our mission to help Minneapolis recover ended weeks ago, the mission to ensure racial justice within our own ranks has not. The tragedy of George Floyd’s murder was a sorely-needed wake up call across the military to start taking this mission seriously.
Top uniformed leaders opened up about their experience with race and prejudice, DOD examined the systemic racial disparities within the military justice system, the Army eliminated photos from promotion boards, the SECDEF created new diversity boards, and the US Marines banned all displays of the traitorous Confederate flag.
These changes are all positive moves, but are centered at the institutional level. Company grade leaders need to step up to create inclusive command climates. How company and battalion leaders ensure we create a safe and just environment for everyone?
Start the Conversation
There is a norm in the military to avoid engaging in political discussion or topics. We can’t let “politics” shut down conversation; staying silent is itself a political position. For many soldiers, including immigrants, women, and LGBTQ members, their very existence in uniform is a partisan issue. We cannot be neutral on this topic; Black lives – the lives of our Black brothers and sisters in arms – matter.
Minnesota’s Adjutant General put it well when he said Black Lives Matter is a humanitarian statement that “fits exactly into the department of defense and what we stand for.”
The nationwide protests and the Guard’s mission engaging with grieving and angry communities gives our formations a unique opportunity to lead a dialogue. Talk to soldiers about their feelings and role in this moment. Ask them about their experiences with race at the unit level, and be willing to learn. Set the expectation that small group discussions extend to the squad and team level.
See in Color
In May, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed overt institutional racism when he first joined, but that after much progress he felt “colorblind, which is amazing.”
“I don’t see black or white, I just see green” is a common trope that allows us to sidestep difficult conversations and self-reflection on unit culture. Black and minority service members don’t have the privilege of only seeing green. Refusing to see color just means color-based problems will go undetected.
Professionally discussing race at work is not inherently problematic. White leaders need to understand biases that come from often limited personal experience facing racism. Those in the majority must listen to people of color within their formations, whether they are superiors, peers, or subordinates. Step up to implement policies and hold offenders of all ranks accountable.
Introduce Bystander Intervention
What active steps do you expect from your soldiers to earn their “supports all command EO/ EEO/SHARP programs” bullet on their evaluations?
Live – and enforce – the Army Values both in and out of uniform. Bystander intervention is the act of speaking up when observing derogatory acts or statements. It could be something passed off as a “joke” or a soldier putting hands on another without permission. An effective tactic is to ask someone to explain their racist or sexist comment: “We don’t talk like that in this platoon, why do you think that is funny?”
Intervention is crucial because it sends a signal to other observers of what right looks like. It gives them motivation to speak up themselves, and helps a victim feel less isolated. It is not primarily about correcting behavior, which is something the leader must do swiftly in a separate individual counseling or report.
In some circumstances, it can save a life. The police who stood by while George Floyd was murdered were rookies just days into their job. None of them had the courage to stand up against their training officer. This is a culture problem.
Intervening takes courage. It is legitimately hard to stand up to peers, superiors, and even subordinates in the moment and let them know something isn’t acceptable. It is even harder to be on the receiving end of something demeaning or violent and not have any backup. Soldiers need to know their leader will always have their back if they intervene; no matter the outcome.
Put it on the Training Schedule
We learn and practice battle drills so we know exactly how to react in stressful situations. What is your battle drill for confronting discrimination?
A helpful tool to learn tactics and planning is decision games. The same can be done for bystander intervention. Create a scenario for soldiers to role play (be mindful of the potential impact on minority soldiers – involve them in planning).
If we don’t train on ethics, they won’t be there for us when we need them. Include ethical decision making in regularly scheduled Leader Professional Development sessions. Put it on the calendar and resource it during training meetings. Include the time in quarterly/yearly Unit Training Briefs.
If we don’t actively dedicate training time towards these objectives, if we just rely on mandatory flip book training and annual briefs, we are not being proactive about creating respectful environments that allow our soldiers to thrive.
The Army Values demand that we treat all of our brothers and sisters in arms with respect. Diversity is a strength and necessity to fight and win our wars. Renaming bases and banning displays of racist flags are good gestures, but it is imperative for company leaders to take concrete steps training the character that builds stronger unit culture.
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