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Rock Solid Warrior: Tech. Sgt. Deven Gates

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SOUTHWEST ASIA --  This week's 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Rock Solid Warrior comes from the 386th AEW staff

Name: Tech. Sgt. Deven Gates

Unit: 386th AEW

Job: Director, Equal Opportunity

Home station: 355th Fighter Wing, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base

How do you support the mission here? As the Equal Opportunity Director my role is to support the mission through preventative measures aimed at ensuring all members have the opportunity to serve in a deployed location in an environment free of discrimination and harassment. In the event that an allegation is made it is also my role to provide an alternate means of compliant processing should the member elect not to work their concern within their chain of command. I also work to provide supervisors and unit leadership with the support and information they need to address allegations brought to their attention.

How many times have you deployed and what makes this deployment unique? This is my first opportunity to serve in the area of responsibility. The position of the EO Director requires access to all of the people and places within the wing; which places the EO office in a position where we have the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people from units around the world. I have really enjoyed this aspect of my position and as a result look forward to my next deployment. I feel very lucky to have served in this wing and to witness firsthand the hard work, dedication, and professionalism our Airmen put forth every day and it makes my job feel worthwhile.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? EO personnel in the AOR have more opportunity to interact with our fellow service members given that we work, eat, and live together 24/7. At home station we live independent lives and have considerably less interaction outside of the office environment. The deployed environment provides a greater ability to access the human relations climate on a micro level and have a positive effect on base operations and mission readiness. Additionally, at home station we usually work as part of an EO team, providing services to base personnel; however, in the AOR we work independently which can be a work load challenge, but also an opportunity to lead and have autonomy in your program.