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CMEO Program Manager Course Revisions Tested during Pilot
Story Number: NNS120927-06
9/27/2012

By Susan Henson, Center for Personal and Professional Development Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Revised content for the Command Managed Equal Opportunity (CMEO) Program Manager course was validated during a pilot held at the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) in Virginia Beach, Va., Sept. 17-21.

The five-day course is designed to provide students with the tools needed to perform as a CMEO manager and administer a command's CMEO program in accordance with the Navy Equal Opportunity Manual, said Master Chief Information Systems Technician Frederick Simpson, CPPD's CMEO Program Manager course manager.

Students are taught applicable Department of Defense and Navy policies and practices, according to Simpson. "Upon graduation, students will be able to identify and demonstrate effective training and presentation techniques, and assist command personnel in resolving conflict using the Informal Resolution System or formal complaint process," he said. "Most importantly, students will be able to administer the Command Climate Survey to aid commanders in assessing the health and welfare of their command."

The course was revised over several months based on feedback from fleet equal opportunity advisors, who recommended adding content. Simpson said the pilot was a comprehensive evaluation of the newly developed material - from lesson plans and trainee guides to observation of the instructors and students in a real-world learning environment to validate the functionality of the new material.

The course now features a block of instruction on ethnic observances, as well as records and reports. "We also scaled back the lesson on 'Management of Pregnant Servicewomen' and focused more on stereotypes and perceptions regarding pregnant servicewomen and the harmful impacts of those stereotypes and perceptions in our work environments," said Simpson. "Prospective CMEO managers will be taught how to maintain awareness of these behaviors while working with their leadership in resolving these types of issues, should they arise."

According to Simpson, the best part of the course is preparing students to assist their commanding officers (COs) in managing their EO programs. "We spend a lot of time providing students with resources and teaching them how to support COs in cultivating a command climate that recognizes and values diversity."

The course culminates in an all-inclusive exercise that requires students to properly survey and assess a command climate using various survey tools, records and reports, and then provide the results to a mock panel of subject matter experts who simulate being commanding officers, executive officers and command mater chiefs. "It's the closest thing to a real-world debrief that gauges the student's understanding of the policy and doctrine as it relates to equal opportunity and the management of the EO program," Simpson said.

CPPD Commanding Officer Capt. John Newcomer said keeping the CMEO Program Manager course content updated is important to fleet readiness. "Training from the course will help commands resolve unprofessional behavior that destroys trust and confidence among leaders and shipmates, erodes unit cohesion and combat readiness, and is contrary to our Navy Core Values," he said. "This course is all about maintaining a positive command climate that supports our core values as well as equal opportunity and personal and professional accountability."

While the course does not grant a Navy Enlisted Classification code, all Navy commands with 16 or more people assigned are required to have a CMEO manager appointed in writing by the unit's commander. Commanders are also required to ensure the appointee attends this course prior to assuming CMEO manager duties.

Aspects of the course pilot closely monitored by CPPD included start and stop times for each lesson, lab exercise and all group exercises. The next step is to determine the total time from these events which will define the length of the course, Simpson said. "The pilot was very successful. We identified a few problems with the new curriculum and took recommendations from the course instructors and monitors that will improve the course even more, making it flow better and improving comprehension of the learning objectives."

Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Electrical) Muctarr Bah, an instructor with CPPD Learning Site Dam Neck who was one of two instructors teaching the pilot course, said that leadership is key to effectively handle equal opportunity problems in a command. "The students were taught that not every leadership issue is an equal opportunity issue, but every equal opportunity issue is a leadership issue," he said. "We also emphasized to students to 'know your instructions as a CMEO.'"

The course will be offered at all CPPD Learning Sites and may be available through CPPD Mobile Training Teams that travel to deliver training to remote commands.

CPPD is responsible for providing a wide-range of personal and professional development courses and materials, including General Military Training, Navy instructor training, alcohol and drug awareness program training, suicide and sexual assault prevention, bystander intervention, Bearings classes, and Personal Responsibility and Values Education and Training (PREVENT) classes.

CPPD's leadership training is delivered multiple times throughout a Sailor's career via command-delivered enlisted leadership training material and officer leadership courses in a schoolhouse setting.

CPPD also administers the Navy's VOLED program, which provides Sailors with the ability to earn college degrees through programs such as tuition assistance, the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education, and the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership.

Additionally, CPPD manages the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program, which offers Sailors the opportunity to earn civilian apprenticeship certifications.

For more information about the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD), visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cppd/.

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For more news from Center for Personal and Professional Development, visit www.navy.mil/local/voledpao/.