FORT IRWIN, Calif. — During a two-day event from Feb. 24-25, soldiers and Department of the Army civilians were given the opportunity to voice their concerns to DA personnel as part of a listening tour called, “Your Voice Matters.”
“The ‘Your Voice Matters’ project is critically important, when we talk about racism, discrimination, inclusion, and sexual harassment and assault,” Brig. Gen. David Lesperance said.
“When we look at domestic violence and suicide, to me they all come together. The reason for that is it’s the same squad leader, platoon leader and company commander that has to solve that problem. We need make the training meaningful and understandable so it can be executed at the lowest level.”
Soldiers and DA civilians were given the opportunity to attend half a dozen, 90-minute sessions to discuss current social issues and share their personal experiences in a safe space. Soldiers spoke up about issues regarding, hardships on the installation, the overall environment, jobs, opportunities for education, inclusion, diversity, culture, behavior health, and quality of life.
“These listening seasons are important because it gives you an outlet to be heard,” Master Sgt. Misty Pena said. “As a private I experienced many challenging and there were no opportunities to be heard at that time. The Army is making great leaps and bounds to allow soldiers to have a voice and leaders are listening to our concerns. For female Soldiers specifically in terms of equality, we’ve recently been allowed to join combat arms– they heard us and that’s huge.”
Lesperance said that these sessions help identify what soldiers, their families, and Army civilians needs are on the installation. He said it allows leaders at the installation level to develop or refine programs and capabilities that may not otherwise be acknowledged.
“It’s not about signing in and getting credit for being in the room, it’s the quality of conversation that matters the most,” Lesperance said.
The Army plans to use data collected from the, “Your Voice Matters” sensing sessions to determine the climate on the installations and to determine where Army policies may need to be revised.