350 CACOM Graduates 25 New Equal Opportunity Leaders

Photo By Dustin Gautney | Master Sgt. Sandra Sutton, 350th CACOM Equal Opportunity Advisor, instructs students as part of the Equal Opportunity Leader course held at the 350th Civil Affairs Command during a week-long course held at the command on July 27, in Pensacola Fla.  

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES

07.27.2019

Story by Dustin Gautney 

350th Civil Affairs Command (Airborne)

The 350th Civil Affairs Command graduated 25 newly training Equal Opportunity Leaders during a week-long course held at the command on July 27, in Pensacola Fla.

The Equal Opportunity Leaders course focuses on general equal opportunity knowledge and diversity management. The course prepares graduates to serve as the Equal Opportunity representative at the battalion and company level - a role that is key to their respective unit commanders.

“An EOL program is the responsibility of the unit’s commanders. As part of that the commander must designate two Soldiers to serve as Equal Opportunity Leaders, “ said Master Sgt. Sandra Sutton, 350th CACOM Equal Opportunity Advisor. “The EOL leaders help the leaders with their program, and serve as the eye and ears for the command, and assist the commanders in all responsibilities for the EOL program.

Within the role of an EOL, the appointed Soldiers will help their respective commands conduct Equal Opportunity boards, training, and process informal complaints, said Master Sgt. Sutton.

The EOL course is offered to appointed Soldiers of the rank of Sergeant through First Lieutenant. Consisting of 60 hours of study and four phases of the course consists of: socialization, which teaches Soldiers various cultural values and beliefs; communication and conflict resolution; aspects of discrimination; and Army EO policies along with the tasks and responsibilities of the EOL.

Sgt. First Class Robert Bridgeford, 436th Civil Affairs Battalion, believes that the course provided the key knowledge for newly appointed EOL’s to benefit both their commands and Soldiers.

“Having the tools we gained here is defiantly going to help my knowledge to be a great advocate for my commander and provide the resources to help that Soldier directly or know the awareness of who else can, either the equal opportunity advisor, the chaplain, the staff judge advocate; to make sure folks have the opportunity to treated fairly,” said Sgt. First Class Bridgeford.

• Date Taken: 07.27.2019
• Date Posted: 08.01.2019 17:02
• Story ID: 334145
• Location: PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, US