Acknowledge diversity, make holiday celebrations inclusive Published Nov. 27, 2006 By Capt. Richard Milton 71st Flying Training Wing Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- While we all work to accomplish the same mission "Preparing Tomorrows Joint Warriors to Fly, Fight and Win, we all may not share the same religious faith or ideology, especially concerning religious observances or holidays. The Air Force and our country are unique in that we are diverse, yet we are unified. It is our diversity that makes us so unique. We must accept our diversity and embrace it since it is such an integral part of who we are as Americans. A prime example of our diversity is how differently many Americans celebrate the holiday season. It is important to remember that there are many groups of people who are celebrating a holiday occurring in or around December that may be called something other than Christmas. With this in mind we can, during the holiday season, do one of two things: include everyone in our celebrations or exclude some from our celebrations. Exclusion does much to damage the morale of a unit. Attaining a high level of esprit de corps is essential to maintaining morale. If a member of an organization feels excluded from an event...say a "Christmas" party, (since they may not celebrate Christmas) then the intent of the party...camaraderie, boosting morale, etc., has been missed and more harm than good has been done. On the other hand, inclusion does great things to boost morale, esprit de corps and camaraderie. By calling your seasonal event a "holiday party" instead of a Christmas party, those that may not necessarily celebrate Christmas may feel more welcome to attend a gathering especially since they may feel less excluded based on their religion or the way in which they celebrate the holiday season. How diversely do we really celebrate the holiday season? Approximately 9 to 10 million Americans do not celebrate Christmas. Most of those who do not celebrate Christmas are members of a non-Christian faiths (Buddhists, Muslim, Hindus, Jewish, etc.) or simply do not have a religious affiliation. Unbeknownst to you, many of these individuals may be your friends, peers, subordinates or co-workers. Bottom line, you may be prepping up invites for the Christmas party with the best intentions in the world, but the impact may be individuals left feeling excluded because of how they celebrate the holiday or their religious affiliation. What is the answer? As mentioned above, during the holiday season our nation celebrates a variety of special events and holidays, such as Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Ramadan. We recommend simply calling your celebration a holiday party. What difference does semantics make? Well, it can make a difference between exclusion and inclusion. By doing something as simple as calling the Christmas party a holiday party, this may send a clear message that an organization embraces diversity, is inclusive and considers all personnel as valued members regardless of how they celebrate during the holiday season. Diversity is a powerful tool and one that has made us the great nation we are and will continue to be. Diversity should be embraced not only during the holidays, but throughout the entire year. The United States is the most tolerant nation in the world in terms of embracing diversity and differences. It is our tolerance that makes us different from any other nation and the best in the world. This tolerance includes everything from political beliefs to religious beliefs. Accepting that there are differences and making personal allowances for those differences is another thing that makes us great. We should do this through practicing inclusion whenever possible. Practicing inclusion builds an organizational culture that embraces belonging no matter what a person's religious affiliation may be, the political party to which they belong or how they may or may not celebrate the holidays. When we conduct our mission, whether that be wrenching on an aircraft, loading bombs, or riding next to a fellow warrior in a vehicle as part of a convoy, we execute the mission. The camaraderie that we build through executing inclusive events promoting esprit de corps is part of what makes the mission happen. Happy holidays and season's greetings from your wing MEO Staff.