SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- To better foster an environment of awareness and inclusivity, the Equal Opportunity office here hosts a Power of Facilitation course three times a week and is open to all Airmen, dependents and civilians.
The Power of Facilitation training is designed for leaders at every level to learn how to facilitate a difficult dialogue in a productive manner. It is the responsibility of every leader to break down barriers on an institutional, social, and individual level.
The Ramstein Air Base EO office designed the course and it is being taught around U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and it is localized for each base. The course is taught here by 52nd Fighter Wing EO specialists Tech. Sgt. Kinesha Greenlee, Tech. Sgt. Melanie Thermidor, Jeanne Morrow and Ginny Wescott.
“Members guide the discussion, but the overall topic is race,” said Greenlee. “Every class is a learning experience. I always hear a different perspective and a light bulb comes on for me. I want people to walk away knowing it is ok to disagree but have an open mind. We want everyone to continue having these difficult discussions and the course is the first step.”
Students who have already attended the course find it helpful in learning to communicate difficult issues with their peers.
“My commander told me about the course and I thought it would be a good learning opportunity,” said 1st Lt Denisha Bennett, 52nd Contracting Squadron specialist. “The diversity of those attending was nice to see, you got to see other perspectives on different issues such as the George Floyd incident. We also talked about discrimination in the military, how it can affect an Airman’s opportunities and career progression and how commanders can better handle difficult situations.”
These efforts begin with first having the difficult conversation and actively listening to the concerns and experiences of fellow Airmen.
This course will provide leaders with the necessary tools and skills to create a safe environment to host and guide these discussions.
“It’s a good conversation to have, it can help people be aware of their implicit biases,” said Bennett. “It helped me better connect on a human level. I remembered that just because other people will see things differently than you, doesn’t mean they’re wrong, it just means they’re coming at it from different life experiences and we can all learn from that.”
Anyone interested can go to https://portal.usafe.af.mil/sites/52FW/Honos/SitePages/Students.aspx and register.
There is a maximum of 10 people per class allowed, with physical distancing still being enforced.
For further questions, please contact the Equal Opportunity office at 314-452-6392/06565-61-6392.