JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska –
The Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, awarded the Alaska National Guard with the National Guard Excellence in Diversity Award for its diversity and inclusion efforts in Fiscal Year 2023, on July 31, 2024.
The award began in 2019 and has five categories. It’s presented annually to states and territories, units, and individuals who consistently and significantly contribute to diversity and inclusion initiatives and building measurable milestones to achieve success. Alaska won in “Exemplary States and Territories” category.
The objective of the EID Award is to recognize, and incentivize an adaptable, innovative, and lethal National Guard capable of fostering diversity and inclusion while meeting current and future operational demands.
“The award is a tremendous honor for the AKNG, and it shows that NGB recognizes the important work that the AKNG is doing to further and strengthen diversity and inclusion efforts,” said Janie Ramos, the state equal employment manager.
The effort to advance diversity and inclusion initiatives around the state is done by a collective group in Alaska called the AKNG Joint Diversity Council. The council is comprised of the Alaska Native Relationships Working Group, Diversity in Leadership Working Group, the Outreach and Training Workshop Group and the subgroup Arctic Guardian’s Women Council.
Alaska is unique, with 231 federally recognized Tribes and 229 Tribal governments within Alaska Native demographic. According to Ramos, the Alaska Native Relationships Working Group has taken the lead in ensuring the Guard is representative of the community in which it serves.
The ANRWG initialized several projects that contributed to the award. They allocated $350,000 to honor Alaska Native servicemembers who were in the Alaska Territorial Guard during WWII. Secondly, they obtained Alaska Native artwork to display in Alaska Air National Guard buildings to celebrate the traditions and contributions made by Alaska Natives who have served. They also enhanced engagement, community outreach and recruiting in the remote communities across Alaska.
“We are optimistic that the hard-working efforts of the JDEC during the fiscal year will reflect
growth in the Alaska Native communities it’s currently serving and the Alaska Air and
Army Guardsmen,” Ramos said.
The JDEC subgroup Diversity in Leadership Working Group was another key contributor to the award. In 2022, The AGWC created focus groups to assess the climate for female servicemembers in the Alaska Air Guard. The group discovered that the top three concerns among women who served in those units were gender bias, lack of mentorship opportunities for women and childcare. The AGWC took this feedback and created events to address these concern areas.
“The AGWC is continuing to strive to focus on the lines of effort to improve the lives of women and men in the 176th Wing,” Ramos said. “With their continued efforts, we will be able to determine if positive growth and retention improved in the following years.”
JDEC’s Outreach and Training Workshop Group contributed to the award by collaborating with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility team. This partnership ensured that the AKNG followed all federally recognized special observances and best practices.
The OTWG also works closely with local Alaska community groups like the Army Corp of Engineers, Hispanic National Council of Hispanic Employment Managers, Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and other groups to collectively talk about best practices and networking opportunities.
“Diversity and inclusion are important to mission readiness of the force and to develop, mentor and retain top talent,” Ramos said.
The EID Award recognizes successes in the implementation of the National Guard Diversity and Inclusion Strategic goals.
These four goals include enhancing diversity and inclusion, ensuring that leaders champion those efforts, developing and increasing diversity partnerships and retaining top talent reflective of communities in which the National Guard serves.
The work in promoting diversity across the force is far from over. Quarterly JDEC meetings continue to build on the Guard’s diversity and inclusion goals. In 2024, the council introduced a working group called “Generational Differences” for those currently serving in the workplace to enhance multi-generational cohesion and understanding.
In a letter to AKNG leadership announcing the award, Hokanson said, “The dedication of the men and women of the entire Alaska National Guard plays a vital role in advancing my intent to maintain a ready, resilient force by recruiting, retaining and promoting talented, capable high-performing citizen Soldiers and Airmen from every racial, ethnic and gender group, ensuring that our force reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.”