A Navy Task Force aimed at enhancing diversity within the branch is suggesting “bias awareness training” for board members as well as an exchange program with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The Task Force One Navy, which was tasked with ensuring “a culture of inclusivity” and diversity at every command, submitted its 142-page report with around 60 recommendations to reach their goal, a statement from the Navy’s press office said Wednesday.
“The nearly 60 recommendations are a true reflection of the feedback from Sailors and Navy civilians and will make the Navy more equitable and increase our warfighting capability,” Rear Admiral Alvin Hosely, who was the director of the Task Force, said in the statement.
Task Force One Navy, a review designed to address any systemic inequalities in the Navy, was triggered by the racial reckoning last summer that followed the death of George Floyd. https://t.co/HC3LJ1TAgv
— ABC News (@ABC) February 3, 2021
Some of the recommendations included developing “bias awareness” training for all members of promotion boards, the statement read. In addition, the task force suggested creating student-exchange programs between the Naval Academy and HBCUs.
Other recommendations included increasing side-load scholarships that target underrepresented communities and developing “quality assurance measures,” the statement read. (RELATED: Virginia Newspaper Issues Racial Disclaimer Ahead Of New Project)
“As a Navy – uniform and civilian, active and reserve – we cannot tolerate discrimination of any kind,” Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday said in the statement, adding that this is why the task force was created.
The task force also reportedly reviewed six instructions and nine “command-specific” instructions that could be considered “offensive” or “hampered inclusion,” the statement read.
The task force had reportedly been garnering feedback from around 898 active and reserve sailors as well as internationally-stationed Navy citizens, the statement said, as well as conducting 285 interviews and focus group sessions across the Naval fleet.