Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Michele Hunt | Gunnery Sgt. Craig Ranney, equal opportunity advisor, 1st Marine Logistics Group,...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - More than 20 senior leaders from I Marine Expeditionary Force participated in an equal opportunity leadership conference held July 26-28. The participants took part in group exercises and decision-making scenarios. One decision game posed the following situation:
Before taking a trip, a baron tells his wife not to leave the castle or she will be killed. Once he is gone, the baroness leaves the castle to visit her lover, but upon returning, encounters a madman who says he will kill her if she tries to cross the river. The baroness returns to her lover for assistance but he provides no help. So the baroness goes to a boatman and asks to be carried across the river to the castle, but she does not have five coins for payment and the boatman refuses to help. The baroness then goes to a friend to borrow money, explaining her situation, but yet again, the friend offers no aid. The baroness tries again to return to the castle and the madman kills her. On a scale of one to six, rank the most responsible to least responsible person for the baroness’ death.
After being placed in five groups, senior enlisted Marines and officers were instructed to come to an agreement and explain to the class how they decided who was most responsible. The purpose of this exercise was to show how difficult it is to convince a group of leaders to come to an agreement because their values and belief systems vary.
“I thought, ‘Wow, we can’t even agree on the first problem because of our differences,’” said Master Sgt. Kip Lawson, training chief, Security Battalion, Provost Marshall’s Office. “It’s definitely something we need to work on as leaders.”
During the conferences, equal opportunity representatives discussed various topics including socialization, values, attitudes and behaviors.
“The conference focuses on understanding others that may be different from ourselves,” said Gunnery Sgt. Duane K. Hairston, equal opportunity advisor, Marine Corps Installations West. “We are improving our leadership, which results in increased unit cohesion and readiness.”
After showing the class film clips of discrimination toward multiple ethnicities in the movie “Crash,” a movie based on racism in Los Angeles, instructors also sparked heated debates regarding nationality and gender biases.
One speaker addressed a significant stigma that existed for him as a junior Marine many years ago: a rumor that female Marines always automatically win meritorious boards.
“The only reason I never went on a meritorious board was because there was always a female on it,” said Gunnery Sgt. Craig Ranney, EO advisor, 1st Marine Logistics Group. “If there is a female going up on the board, don’t even bother going on it. That was my stigma and what I was taught growing up through the ranks.”
As an advisor of equal opportunity and diversity, Ranney learned how derogatory the idea was and discussed how great of an impact stereotypes had on junior Marines. He explained how leaders played a major role in diminishing negative perceptions.
“As leaders, we are responsible for educating ourselves and educating our Marines,” said Ranney. “That’s the only way we’re going to win. We are in the position to change the culture, so do it.”
At the end of the “drawbridge exercise,” each group reached a conclusion of who was most responsible for the baroness’ death.
Though it was difficult and compromise didn’t come easy, their answers were finally made. The largest debate was whether the baroness was most responsible for disobeying the baron after being warned she would be killed, or whether the madman was most responsible for actually committing the act. The discussion gave the leaders a new perspective on how to handle real decision-making situations throughout the Marine Corps.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2011 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 74904 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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