I would like to take a few minutes and introduce myself to those of you may not know me, and who may not know that I am now serving as the Wing’s HRA. Most of you are probably wondering what exactly a Human Resource Advisor does. The first thought that comes to the minds of many when asked if they know what the HRA does is, ‘Oh, that’s the person who gets to do all of the hiring and firing right?” Wrong. Another answer we’ve heard is, “That’s the resiliency briefer.” Not quite, so please allow me to provide some insight to better understand what the HRA role is all about.

The HRA office is located in room 127 in the wing headquarters building 33-27. My role as the newly-appointed uman Resource Advisor is to advise and assist the wing commander and senior leadership on strategic initiatives that directly affect organizational culture, and on the development, mentoring and effective utilization of all Airmen within the unit. The HRA maintains relations with the equal opportunity officer, the state and wing command chiefs, unit career advisors, first sergeants, recruiters, the retention office manager, chaplain, family support services, Yellow Ribbon program coordinators and community leaders to help accomplish these initiatives. Three main pillars that encompass the HRA vision are: diversity and inclusion, force development and force management.
 
These are explained as follows:
1. Diversity and Inclusion:
 promote awareness and coordinate training to operationalize Diversity: operationalize it throughout the wing; “All in!”
Inclusion: “..never leave an airman behind” concept
2. Force Development: promote PME, civilian education, leadership development training, & mentoring
Competence: we are responsible for developing ALL of
our airmen!
3. Force Management:
ensuring everyone is informed of ‘all’ of the opportunities available to them, and identifying trends within our organization and rank structures.Engage: get our airmen involved, and make them feel
part of the team!

A simple way to look at Diversity and Inclusion:
Deciding to join the military is like deciding to attend the big ‘dance’ in town: everyone is invited to go, but not everyone chooses to go. Those that wanted to go finally arrive, and look around for opportunities to dance once they’re inside. They already made the decision to go; however; it’s our job as leaders to ensure everyone is asked to ‘dance’ once they arrive! Airmen may decide to leave because no one ever asked them to dance.

A Look into the Future:
There are several initiatives to incorporate the goals of the HRA program. You will see information distributed in the upcoming months via Wingtips, squadron rollcalls, and Sharepoint that discuss Diversity and Inclusion, and mentoring. Please feel free to submit ideas, suggestions and/or comments to my office via email, or stop by the office in building 33-27, room 127 near public affairs and the sexual assault response coordinator office.