Navy Seaman Juan Martinez refills a liquid oxygen converter on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea, June 15, 2021.
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Night Patrol
Navy SEALs conduct a nighttime patrol during Orion 21 in Crete, Greece, June 3, 2021. The exercise tests international collaborations, the role of special operations forces in the Balkan and Mediterranean regions, and the enhancement of Greek operational capabilities in multiple domains.
Cape Cod Concealment
Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Sposato uses green smoke to conceal his movement during a training exercise at Joint Base Cape Cod, Mass., June 5, 2021.
Dog Duty
Air Force Staff Sgt. Miguel Guajardo works with Splash, a military working dog, at Yokota Air Base, Japan, June 11, 2021.
Bilateral Ops
U.S. sailors and Marines conduct bilateral operations with Japanese troops in the Philippine Sea, June 13, 2021.
Parachute Repair
Air Force Airman 1st Class Aaron Slack repairs a hole in a parachute at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, June 14, 2021.
Ear Exam
Air Force Maj. Rolando De Luna examines a patient in Tafraoute, Morocco, June 14, 2021, during African Lion, U.S. Africa Command's largest joint, annual exercise.
Grocery Delivery
Arizona Army National Guard soldiers deliver groceries and other items to area residents at a drive-in and walk-up food bank in Phoenix, Ariz., June 15, 2021. The Arizona National Guard has activated more than 800 Arizona guardsmen and airmen to support community needs during this state of emergency response.
COVID-19 Vaccine
Navy Seaman Denisse Estrada-Suarez administers the COVID-19 vaccine during a Tiger Team visit to Marine Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune, N.C., June 15, 2021.
Formation Run
A Marine carries the Marine Corps Forces South guidon during a formation run around Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans, June 15, 2021.
High Speed
A field ambulance rushes simulated patients to a combat hospital during Exercise Global Medic at Fort Hunter-Liggett, Calif. June 11, 2021. The exercise aims to provide trained, equipped, and combat ready units and medical personnel to support the total force on the battlefield.
Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s Participation in the 8th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus
June 16, 2021
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met virtually with his Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts, along with counterparts from the other ASEAN Dialogue Partners, at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus, June 15, 2021. In his remarks, Secretary Austin articulated the Administration’s vision for the Indo-Pacific, underscoring the importance of allies and partners, shared principles, and multilateral approaches to security challenges, including pandemic assistance. He also highlighted unlawful PRC behavior in the South China Sea and called on Myanmar’s military to change course.
The Defense Ministers formally adopted this year’s Joint Declaration commemorating the 15th anniversary of the ADMM, which emphasizes a broad commitment by the ADMM-Plus members to collaborate in addressing common challenges, and to uphold a rules-based order. Notably, the Ministers identified natural disasters exacerbated by climate change as a significant emerging regional challenge requiring cooperation to address.
Defense, State Agree: Diversity, Inclusion Important for Mission Success
June 16, 2021 | , DOD News
Diversity and inclusion are as important to the State Department's
ability to conduct diplomacy as they are to the Defense Department's
ability to defend the nation.
At a town hall meeting at the Pentagon for the department's industrial policy community, Stacy A. Cummings, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, met with Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the chief diversity and inclusion officer at the State Department, to discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion in the success of their respective agencies.
"The [secretary of defense] looks at the department, leading through values. And diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of our values as a country and our values as a department,” Cummings said. "His intention is that we incorporate that into our work and everything that we do. It is a strategic imperative, and it's critical to mission success and accomplishment that diversity and inclusion are included in our strategies."
Cummings said leaders across the defense department have been challenged by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to leverage the strength of the total force, including military personnel, civilians and in the acquisition and sustainment community, industry partners as well.
"The way that I personally think about diversity and inclusion is from the perspective of competing for talent," Cummings said. "In order for us ... to get the best possible capability, we need to have a structure and an environment that incorporates the totality of the United States of America as well as the capabilities of our allies and partners. And if we want to get the best skills, the best capability, the best thought, the best innovation, the only way for us to do that is to encourage everyone to want to compete to be part of our team."
When diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of defense leaders' decision-making, Cummings said, the best people will come forward to be part of not just the A&S team, but also to be a part of the teams that make up the industry partners who provide capabilities for warfighters. Diverse teams, she said, create diverse ideas that are more capable of providing the department with what it needs to keep the nation safe.
We can only do that when we create an environment that's open
for everyone to have ... not just a seat at the table, but a voice — and
actually be able to share their thoughts.''
Stacy A. Cummings, performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment
Those diverse ideas, she said, answer the call for the innovation and modernization at the center of the president's interim national security strategy.
"It is very strongly focused on bringing in innovation and modernization in a way that's affordable so that we can balance innovation and modernization with sustainment or continued current readiness," she said. "And the only way we're going to do that is if we bring in new ideas, and if we bring in new thoughts and technologies."
Ensuring those diverse new ideas come into the department is only possible, she said, if there is an environment within the department itself that invites it in.
"We can only do that when we create an environment that's open for everyone to have ... not just a seat at the table, but a voice — and actually be able to share their thoughts," she said.
Abercrombie-Winstanley said that at the State Department, she's now working to do much the same — bringing in diverse talent to strengthen the ability of her own agency to conduct its diplomatic mission.
"Our biggest challenge, we know, is the system," Abercrombie-Winstanley said. "Many people in our organization do not believe that our system will serve them well, either that they are equally valued, have the same access to assignments that lead to promotion, that lead to retention. And that is where the Department of State struggles most — not with recruiting, but with retention."
In much the same way that diversity and inclusion can bring a broader range of ideas to the Defense Department's acquisition and sustainment community, which translates to better capability for the warfighter, Abercrombie-Winstanley said diversity and inclusion will strengthen the State Department's ability to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the nation.
"The secretary was clear ... we are doing this not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's going to make our work better," Abercrombie-Winstanley said. "Anyone knows if you got a group of people trying to resolve a problem, the wider array of backgrounds and perspectives that you have at the table are going to give you a wider array of options and recommendations for resolving the issues or the challenges before you."
That wider array of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, Abercrombie-Winstanley said, will help the State Department the way it helps the Defense Department.
"People who come from the region, or have lived experiences in the region, the way of thinking, perspective, culture — all of those things brought to bear are going to help us with our foreign policy," she said. "So that, that's our bottom line there."
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