Travis EO: strength through a unified force Published June 21, 2012 By Tyler Grimes 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- With the complex and continuous operations of today's Air Force, it takes a diverse but unified workforce to meet the demands of the mission. To keep the force unified, there is a team dedicated to promoting education, awareness and understanding important issues involving diversity in the workplace. At Travis, the 60th Equal Opportunity office provides guidance and resources to active duty service members, their families, civilian employees and military retirees regarding issues such as illegal discrimination and sexual harassment according to Grayland Hilt, 60th EO director. Hilt works with the Travis community to raise awareness of these topics and ensure when they arise that they are properly addressed. "The main part of my job is to be visible to the whole base," he said. "Not just to management officials but to all the employees, both military and civilian, because if the only time people see me is when I'm working on a complaint or an investigation then I've already failed them." One aspect of his job is to educate the workforce about how these issues affect themselves, their colleagues and the mission. Hilt says when any form of discrimination or harassment is present it brings workplace morale down and causes a decrease in overall productivity. In extreme cases, these problems can proliferate outside the individual workplace and harm an entire base. Hilt recalls the race riots of 1971 here at Travis as a prime example of what can happen when workplace equally concerns are ignored. "People were unable to focus on the mission," he said. "Our base shut down for three days, the mission wasn't being accomplished. We couldn't fly planes because of the race riots." Today, the 60th EO office works to prevent hostile work environments by encouraging communication among all ranks. Hilt stresses that respect is vital to successful communication regardless of interoffice hierarchy. "Just because you're a supervisor doesn't mean you get to treat people in a demeaning manner," he said. "It means you have a responsibility to understand your people and understand how to get the very best out of them." When communication breaks down and these types of conflicts arise, one of the services the EO office provides is preliminary mediation. This involves bringing both parties together to discuss the matters at hand and hopefully reach a mutual resolution. Hilt says this is an important option to consider before a complaint is filed because sometimes the solution is as simple as taking ownership of one's actions. Moreover, these meetings can lead to a much better understanding of each other and bring people closer together. "I had a military supervisor and a civilian employee and throughout mediation, I kept thinking there is something else going on here," he said. "And really all the complainant wanted was an apology from the supervisor. The individual just wanted the supervisor to acknowledge that they made a mistake and the supervisor was very sorry and just didn't realize the impact it had on their employee." Another aspect of the EO office is informing a complainant of their rights and the different areas of discrimination which differ among military and civilian workers. For military members, unlawful discrimination or harassment can be based on race, national origin, color, religion or sex. There are additional protections for civilians regarding their age, genetic information, mental or physical disabilities and against reprisal. For 2nd Lt. Jillian Saridaki, 60th EO deputy director, the work that her team does transcends individual units and employees. "One of the biggest benefits we have in the military is how diverse we are," Saridaki said. "The more education the EO office is able to provide about that diversity, the stronger our overall force can become." For more information about your rights and the services provided contact the 60th EO office at 424-1701.