Command Managed Equal Opportunity (CMEO) Program

The objective of Command Managed Equal Opportunity is to promote positive command morale and quality of life by providing an environment in which all personnel can perform to their maximum ability, unimpeded by institutional or
individual biases based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender or religious stereotypes. Command leaders must create, shape, and maintain a positive EO environment through policy, communication, training, education, enforcement and assessment.

Command Managed Equal Opportunity is intended to be one of many commanders' tools for the prevention of unprofessional behavior and for ensuring EO goals are obtained. Leadership has the authority and responsibility to ensure that Navy Core Values are integrated into our daily business.

CMEO Managers assist commanders by:

Serving as the coordinator for the command climate assessment.
Coordinating and monitoring all command EO training.
Ensuring formal complaints are submitted with established guidance and timelines per OPNAVINST 5354.1F.
Maintaining CMEO record files for 3 years.
Performing other EO-related duties as assigned by the commander.
Periodically evaluate the CMEO Program utilizing the CMEO Checklist (contained in OPNAVINST 5354.1).
Coordinating the processing of EO/SH complaints.

(Note: Personnel who manage the EO complaint process do not normally perform investigations due to the possibility of conflict of interest).

OPNAV Equal Opportunity Policy (5354.1F):

The instruction (significantly updated in 2007) provides a great opportunity for CMEOs to brief Commanders and personnel on the Navy's EO policy. Commands are encouraged to carefully read through the entire instruction. Some of the changes from the previous version include:

Formal EO/SH complaints are to be reported under OPNAVINST F3100.6J guidelines.
All completed formal EO complaint investigations, with endorsements, will now be forwarded to the Echelon 2 EOA.
Mandatory establishment of a Command Training Team.
Mandatory establishment of a Command Assessment Team.
Mandatory completion of Navy Rights and Responsibilities training.
Mandatory use of the "Triangulation Method" when conducting a command climate assessment.

Climate Assessment Tools:

1. Surveys: The DEOMI Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) is available from the research department of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute through the DEOCS Web site. The DEOCS is a commander's management tool that allows s/he to proactively assess critical organizational climate dimensions that can have an impact on effectiveness within the organization. Respondents answer questions that affect a unit's readiness and formal and informal policies, practices, and procedures that occur or are likely to occur within the organization. The questionnaire has three focus areas:

a. Military Equal Opportunity (EO)

b. Civilian Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

c. Organizational Effectiveness (OE)

Some facts about DEOCS:

DEOCS takes 20 minutes to complete
DEOCS is suitable for military and civilian organizations with at least 16 members
DEOCS is available online, in paper form, or in combination
DEOCS results are processed within 72 hours of receipt
DEOCS offers up to 10 command-specific questions
Respondent anonymity is protected
Results are for commanding officer and command appointed survey administrators eyes only

2. Focus Groups - EOAs are trained to conduct focus groups as a means of getting people to open up regarding the quality of the command climate. Assessment Team members can be taught this skill as there is no requirement that focus group facilitators be EOAs. Example focus group questions include: "What do you like most and least about your command?" "How difficult is it for you to recover from making a mistake in the eyes of your supervisor?" "In a word, how would you describe your command?"

3. Data Collection - According to OPNAVINST 5354.1F, a command climate assessment must be completed within 90 days of a CO's taking command and annually thereafter. Further, the instruction specifies that the "triangulation" method of assessment must be used. Triangulation means that at least three different methods of assessment must be employed, with one of them being DEOCS. Other assessment methods include Records Review (awards, promotions, discipline, etc.); Personal Interviews; and Assessor Observations. These methods are neither formal or formatted. Each means what its name implies. Results of data collection remain confidential between DEOMI and the supported command.

Command Climate Assessment Process:

1. Effective immediately commanders, COs, and OICs shall conduct a face-to-face debrief of their command climate assessment executive summary using the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) to include a plan of action and milestones (POA&M), with their immediate superior in command (ISIC). Commanders shall include ISIC commander contact information in their initial survey request to enable automatic ISIC visibility of the command climate survey process. Commanders shall also validate ISIC information when closing the survey and requesting reports to enable the ISIC to receive automatic notification and directly access the survey results and reports.

2. Every command is unique and has its own culture, thus each shall be assessed individually and not with another command.

3. The preferred method to administer DEOCS is online. It can also be administered manually (paper), or the command can use a combination of both. Because of the time delay in receiving the final report, the manual method of administering the DEOCS shall only be used for units in a deployed status when connectivity is not consistently available and only if approved by the ISIC.

4. When a DEOCS is requested electronically a user name, password and URL are provided to the survey administrator. When the command closes out the survey the administrator must specifically request that the report be generated. When the DEOCS is administered manually or as a combination of electronic and manual, the commander shall also provide a copy of the final DEOCS report, to include all comments, to the ISIC.

5. OPNAVINST 5354.1F, CH-1 Navy Equal Opportunity Policy, requires both active and reserve commanders, commanding officers, and officers-in-charge to conduct command climate assessments within 90 days after assumption of command and annually as follow-up assessments during command tenure.

6. The command climate assessment shall be completed using the triangulation method as defined in the OPNAVINST 5354.1F CH-1. When administering the DEOCS electronically the command climate assessment may not take longer than 60 days from the start of the survey to the submission of the executive summary to the commander. The timeline is outlined below:

a. DEOCS: 21 days

b. Request report from DEOMI: 1 day

c. Command Assessment Team (CAT) review of the report: 14

days

d. Conduct focus groups/interviews: 14 days

e. Preparation of the Executive summary and POA&M: 10

days

f. Records and reports shall be maintained and reviewed

quarterly.

7. When administering the DEOCS manually or as a combination of electronic and manual, the command climate assessment shall not take longer than 38 days from when the command first receives the report from DEOMI.

8. These procedures are effective immediately.