The Director of the Navy's 21st Century Sailor Office, Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, addressed more than 150 command climate specialists (CCS) and command managed equal opportunity (CMEO) officers at this year's Navy Military Equal Opportunity Professional Development Training Summit that was held at the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), July 31-Aug. 2.

During his remarks Wednesday, Sobeck reminded the CCS and CMEO attendees of the significance of their mission to promote a healthy command climate.

“Take this role seriously, said Sobeck. “The command climate or culture of the command is an important part of our overall strategy to reduce destructive behaviors, understand what risks exist, and to build protective factors to help our Sailors and their families thrive in the Navy’s unique and challenging operating environment.”

The theme of this year's summit is, "Assess…Plan…Execute,” and provided guidance on policy requirement changes and best practices for assessing a command’s climate.

"Every command has a responsibility to reduce unplanned losses as a result of destructive behaviors through primary prevention,” said Mr. George Bradshaw, Director, Navy Sexual Harassment Prevention and Equal Opportunity. “A primary prevention tool is the command climate assessment… We are focusing to train and equip CCSs on providing oversight and guidance to Command Resilience Teams (CRTs) throughout their climate assessment process.” 

This three-day training fulfills the requirement for CCSs to receive annual follow-on training.  The Summit is designed to provide CCSs and CMEO instructors with the tools necessary to certify, train and equip CMEO program managers.  Additionally, the summit offers an opportunity to network, share best practices, and receive updates on policy requirements. 

A major topic for this year's summit is the new Command Resilience Team (CRT) Guide.  The CRT Guide replaced the Command Assessment Team Guide (NAVEDTRA 7542).  It was developed to guide commands through the completion of the Command Climate Assessment process. The guide outlines the roles and responsibilities of the required members of the CRT and stresses the importance of engaged deckplate leadership in creating a culture of excellence.

“Command Resilience Teams (CRT) are designed to provide the commander with information and insight into concerns of command personnel in order to implement positive measures to promote well-being and resilience,” said Bradshaw.  “CRTs will allow leaders to connect the dots on personnel wellness and they provide commanders with visibility of resilience trends across the command and a means to improve support programs and enhance overall command readiness."

The Navy's 21St Century Sailor office integrates the Navy's objectives for equal opportunity, Sailor personal and family readiness, physical readiness, alcohol and substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, sexual harassment prevention, sexual assault prevention and response (SAPR), hazing prevention and transition assistance. 

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