New, merged Equal Opportunity office makes smooth transition

  • Published
  • By Nick Stubbs
  • Thunderbolt editor
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Keeping up with the acronyms in the Air Force gets tricky sometimes, particularly when there are mergers, but once everyone gets used to the Military Equal Opportunity and it's civilian equivalent coming together as one element now called Equal Opportunity, they are going to like what they see, predicts Capt. Tammy Foster, interim director of the 6AMW EO. 

As part of ongoing efforts to consolidate and compensate for manpower reductions, the move to merge civilian and military equal opportunity was announced by the Air Force last year. The target date was set for Jan. 1, but both elements at MacDill didn't wait, wasting no time getting started when word came down. That foresight already is paying off. 

"We're up and rolling with little or no bumps in the road," said Captain Foster, who recently stepped up to interim head of EO due to the departure of former head Ray Brady, who is taking a U.S. Pentagon post. "We are hitting the ground running." 

Capt. Foster said her personnel already have cross trained. It was a challenge, as there are many laws and regulations that apply to military members that do not apply to civilians, and vice versa, she said, "but now we are ready." 

For the time being, until civilians and servicemembers get comfortable with the change, civilians will conduct initial meetings with civilians with issues to resolve, while military members of EO will deal with servicemembers. 

"Eventually everyone will get used to it, but as it is still new, people tend to gravitate to what they know... which means military people and civilians want to meet with one of their own," Captain Foster said. 

EO currently has three civilians and three active duty staffers. With the departure of Mr. Brady and one servicemember deployed, the office will get along with four for a while. Captain Foster said she expects a replacement for Mr. Brady to be hired in the near future. 

Capt. Foster credits good communication with the civilian and military offices that began last year, upon word of the merger strategy, with the smooth transition.
"We have been taking the training and keeping each other in the loop," she said. "That's been a big plus for us." 

She went on to say there likely will be a few "growing pains," but that is just part of the process as everyone finds their way through the process. It isn't anything that will impact the quality of service, said Captain Foster, who makes a promise to anyone who has a concern that should be addressed by EO. 

"We're here to serve them and see to it that we are there for them," she said. "We are fully prepared to help them with their needs."