Diversity, why is it important in the army?
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The greatest asset that armed forces have is the ability to develop a diverse and inclusive army. It is usually an added advantage when members from different backgrounds come up together and fight for a common course they all believe in. Think of members of different ethnicities, sexual orientations, races, religions, and identities coming together for a common mission. There is no option than winning the fight. There are better reasons why the army should become very inclusive and diverse in membership. That is why it is important to discuss one of the topics of concern; Diversity; why is it important in the army? Segregation and racism have had it all in the past. It has seen the rise of movements that oppose the policies and the ill-treatment of some members. Army Diversity refers to having different experiences, attributes, and originality of the soldiers, family members, and civilians that enhance the international capabilities and foster an adaptive astute army. Diversity is not just a question of morality but also professionalism and ethics.
Analysis
Diversity provides a winning edge for the armies in war. According to a study that involved about 850 armies that participated in 250 wars since 1800, diversity provides grounds for winning those wars. According to the data, the researcher used two methods to determine whether there was ethnic inequality in the army; he used the demographics given, ethnic representation, and how the government treated representatives from these groups. He used these measurement tools to determine whether the army was inclusive or not. Lack of diversity leads to inequality, and inequality means you have shut down some groups for the freedom corner of making decisions with you on the table. The danger of this move to the army may be more catastrophic than expected for locking the army into predictable approaches and tactics that place the soldiers at risk of being defeated in case of any war engagements. In addition, Diverse armies will always fare better in every fight. Statistically speaking, history has proven this assertion right. Those armies that existed from 1800 and had less percentage of diversity have been reported to suffer more casualties. The fight breeds from within when the armies have high levels of inequalities. In other words, a house divided cannot stand still during any form of turbulence. The defeat starts from within, not outside. The soldiers cannot speak the same language because they feel that one group or another group is being oppressed. The defeat is worse when the soldiers switch off their positions and turn against their comrades (Lelito & Ulrich, 2018). A perfect example is the incident of World War II where the Soviet Union soldiers numbering about 158,000 were killed due to their weakening support. This was the question of diversity on the test.
Diversity will boost the innovativeness of the members of the team. Since diversity involves people of different interests, abilities, attributes, and talents, the army should not fear recruiting people from various backgrounds. Scientifically speaking, people think differently. The way someone from a minority ethnic background thinks is not the same way someone from another race thinks. Armies should embrace people from different backgrounds in their recruitment procedures. Research has shown a keen partnership between civilians and the army to develop key innovations like robotics. Today, we have organizations like DARPA, working together with the civilians with the soldiers to help come up with notable inventions. According to researchers at the University of Michigan and Cal-Tech, the best outcomes are always expected when working with diverse teams of people from different backgrounds. Better problem solvers are hidden in diverse teams (Łukasik et al. 2017).
Diversity in the army will lead to high standards of problem-solving techniques. The solution will not rest and depend on one multi-talented individual in the team. Instead, it will rest and depend on several individuals who will share their different perspectives in handling the issue. Scientists have proven this by adopting an interdisciplinary approach and incorporating different insights from different research fields and specializations. Working as a diverse team in search of the solution to an existing problem and challenge plays a major role in coming up with complicated inventions that would have never seen the light.
Conclusion
For the armies to remain up to date with the current needs of the changing world, they have to embrace the ethos and logos of diversity by examining any loopholes in unconscious biasness that may affect the armies. We have to accept that the efforts to have everything in order are not very easy. However, having diverse leadership is evident and can lead to tremendous success in army operations. Armies can ensure diversity through many ways, during recruitment, retention consideration, succession planning, employee involvement, accepting advisory engagements, and through diversity pieces of training (Reyes, 2006).
References
Łukasik, P., Newton, J. A., Sanders, J. G., Hu, Y., Moreau, C. S., Kronauer, D. J., … & Russell, J. A. (2017). The structured diversity of specialized gut symbionts of the New World army ants. Molecular Ecology, 26(14), 3808-3825.
Reyes, A. D. (2006). Strategic options for managing diversity in the US Army. Joint Center For Political And Economic studies Inc Washington DC.
Lelito, K. L., & Ulrich, M. (2018). Gender Diversity at the US Army War College. Strategic Research Project, War of College.
Diversity, why is it important in the army?