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SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. - All eyes were fixed on the scene as it played out. Time was running out and of the six remaining passengers, two had to be thrown from the life raft. The issue of debate was deciding whose removal would have the least amount of impact on the group’s survival; the person in the wheelchair or the single mother of four? This may sound like the scene from a movie, but it was actually a practical exercise during an Equal Opportunity Leaders Course or EOLC. This exercise, and others like it, are used in the EOLC to develop critical thinking and teach students to look at situations from multiple perspectives - important skills for future Equal Opportunity Leaders, or EOLs.
15 Soldiers and Airmen from U.S. Army Central, U.S. Air Force Central, and the 20th Fighter Wing attended an EOLC led by USARCENT’s Equal Opportunity Program Advisors on Shaw Air force Base, S.C. April. 8th-21st, 2021. EOLC is a sixty-hour course designed to equip the service members with the training they needed to make them qualified Equal Opportunity Leaders.
This was the first time USARCENT’s Equal Opportunity Program Advisors invited leaders from Shaw Air Force Base to attend the course. Graduates of the course return to their units with the additional responsibility of being EOLs. The two branches run their Equal Opportunity Programs slightly differently, but the role of all service members who graduated the course will be the same.
“The role of the Equal Opportunity leader is critical to unit cohesion is because they are taught to be the Commander's eyes & ears.” said Sgt. 1st Class Tameka Van Ellis, Military EO & Harassment Program Advisor for USARCENT. “EOLs intervene on discriminatory issues to include bullying and harassment issues that could potentially be damaging to unit readiness/cohesion.”
EOLC does not just equip EOLs with the tools they need to be force generators. Leaders share experiences through classroom lessons and practical exercises geared towards honing their ability to see things from another perspective.
“I hope that leaders learn that everyone has a story, whether positive or negative.” Said Van Ellis, “The foundation of this course is teaching leaders to foster a climate where everyone is treated equally and with respect.”
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2021 06:33 |
| Story ID: | 395246 |
| Location: | SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USARCENT Hosts Joint Service Equal Opportunity Leader Course, by SGT Keon Horton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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