U.S. Army Equal Opportunity Program: Policy and Standards
This paper examines the United States Army's Equal Opportunity (EO) Program, focusing on its stated commitment to eliminating discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and national origin. Drawing on Army Regulation 600-20 and Department of the Army Pamphlet 350-20, the paper explores how the Army defines and addresses inappropriate remarks — including racially charged commentary and sexually suggestive language — within the workplace. It highlights the Army's "impact over intent" standard for evaluating harassment, the formal chain of command for disciplinary action, and the broader argument that eradicating discriminatory behavior strengthens unit cohesion and operational effectiveness.
- Introduction to Army Equal Opportunity: Overview of Army's EO commitment and scope
- EO Program Goals and Official Policy: Official EO program purpose and stated goals
- Race and Ethnicity-Based Remarks: Policy against race-based commentary
- Sexual Commentary and Harassment Standards: Rules governing sexually inappropriate remarks
- Impact Over Intent: Evaluating Offensive Behavior: Victim's perception as primary harassment standard
- Conclusion: Strengthening the EO Environment: Eliminating remarks strengthens Army EO environment
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds every claim in primary military sources — Army Regulation 600-20 and DA Pamphlet 350-20 — giving the argument authoritative support.
- Direct block quotations from official documents are integrated and then interpreted, demonstrating a basic but functional evidence-analysis cycle.
- The paper distinguishes between two distinct categories of prohibited conduct (race-based and sex-based remarks), showing an ability to organize a narrow topic into logical subtopics.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the use of regulatory primary sources as evidence. Rather than relying on secondary commentary, the student quotes directly from Army regulations and pamphlets, then explains how those quotes support the argument. The "impact over intent" standard is particularly well deployed — the student isolates a quoted principle and argues from it rather than simply restating it.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad statement of the Army's EO commitment, then narrows into two specific types of prohibited remarks: race-based and sex-based. Each category receives its own supporting quotation and analysis. The conclusion ties both threads together by arguing that eliminating such conduct strengthens the EO environment. The structure is linear and straightforward, appropriate for a short policy-focused essay at the high school or early undergraduate level.
Introduction to Army Equal Opportunity
For quite some time, the United States Army has been dedicated to the concept of equal opportunity employment and to providing conditions for its personnel to work in that are free from sexism, racism, and classism, as well as from many of the discriminatory practices that, unfortunately, still persist in much of the country today. One of the chief areas in which such unwarranted behavior has the potential to manifest itself — within military service as well as in civilian life — is in the making of inappropriate remarks and jocular behavior based on ethnicity, sex, or other factors tied to a particular demographic group. A substantial body of literature supports the position that the military will not tolerate such behavior, and fairly significant, structured procedures exist to discipline anyone who transgresses the boundaries of the equal opportunity environment that the armed services seeks to provide.
EO Program Goals and Official Policy
One of the stated purposes of the Army's Equal Opportunity Program is to "create and sustain effective units by eliminating discriminatory behaviors or practices that undermine teamwork, mutual respect, loyalty, and shared sacrifice of the men and women of America's Army." The regulation further specifies that "the U.S. Army will provide EO and fair treatment for military personnel and family members without regard to race, color, gender, religion, national origin, and provide an environment free of unlawful discrimination and offensive behavior" (No author, 1994, pp. 9–10).
References
No author. (2008). Army Regulation 600-20. Retrieved from http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_20.pdf
No author. (1994). Department of the Army Pamphlet 350-20. Retrieved from http://www.armyg1.army.mil/eo/docs/dap350_20.pdf
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