Pacific Air Forces welcomes new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility chief

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Pacific Air Forces created a new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility Chief position that will report directly to the Deputy Commander of PACAF to help the command explore and engage opportunities to improve organizational culture and trust.

In his role as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility Chief, Anthony Cruz Munoz, will take on the responsibility of working with PACAF command teams and senior leaders throughout the area of responsibility to identify opportunities to improve readiness, lethality, and speed of decisions by removing unnecessary barriers and creating a more inclusive culture.

“PACAF has made diversity a command priority and is committed to embracing, promoting, and unleashing the potential of diversity and inclusion," Cruz said. “PACAF understands diversity and inclusion are imperative to sustaining our place as the greatest Air Force in the world and key in our competition against near-peer adversaries. By creating this position, PACAF has taken action to back up its words, and this should send a positive message to the entire command.”

Cruz’s focus will be in helping the command to create a climate that increases connectedness to mission accomplishment, purpose, and trust in leadership and the Air Force as an institution.

“Inclusive climates significantly increase trust, which is foundational to healthy relations, influence, and directly impacts the speed of decisions and mission execution,” Cruz said. “Speed is key to remaining dominant in today’s competitive environment, and therefore I am excited to play my role to help the team. I have a strong passion for helping teams create environments where each Airman is free to be the best version of themselves and know they are making significant contributions to the greater purpose.”

There can be many challenges in creating a new role within an already established command however, Cruz believes some of the challenges will be “necessary and purposeful” in order to move forward in making PACAF the best it can be.

“Focusing on the fact that DE&I is a commander’s priority and everyone’s responsibility, I will work to find synergy of efforts by increasing the sharing of information and resources across all PACAF installations,” Cruz said. “I will deliberately focus on consistently using the Air Force definitions provided in [Air Force Instruction] 36-7001 for diversity and inclusion. With a shared understanding of these definitions, I will then focus on having tough conversations, exposing opportunities for growth as a team.”

According to AFI 36-7001, the definitions of diversity and inclusion are as follows:

Diversity: The Air Force broadly defines diversity as a composite of individual characteristics, experiences, and abilities consistent with the Air Force Core Values and the Air Force Mission. Air Force diversity includes but is not limited to: personal life experiences, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, cultural knowledge, educational background, work experience, language abilities, physical abilities, philosophical and spiritual perspectives, age, race, ethnicity, and gender.”Inclusion: “Inclusion is the process of creating a culture where all members of an organization are free to make their fullest contributions to the success of the group, and where there are no unnecessary barriers to success.”

As a prior enlisted Chief Master Sgt.—and command chief—Cruz also brings a different perspective to his new role.

“My time in the Air Force allows me to have a historical understanding of where we have been and how far we need to go,” Cruz said. “We are better than we were, yet not as good as we can, or should, be. My roles provided me a front seat view to many of the issues our Airmen experience, both military and civilian.”

While he is just getting started, Cruz is already looking at what it means to be successful in his role and for the Air Force.

“Success will not be defined by a final destination but by the journey and progress made along the way,” Cruz said. “We have come a long way from where we were in the past, yet we still have much room for improvement. This statement will still be true several years from now.

“We need to continue to reassess ourselves and find new opportunities for growth and improvement,” Cruz continued. “Air Force leaders often have a tremendous love for the institution and a sense of responsibility to leave it better than they found it for those who follow. This is encouraging because history has proven that the Air Force is willing to make difficult choices to remain relevant and the service of choice for future generations.”