Enhancing Lateral Entry Initiatives in the U.S. Air Force to Increase Uniformed Senior Leader Diversity and Overall Innovation

As detailed in the Department of Defense Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, despite the recent rise in first-time selections of candidates from racial/ethnic and gender minority groups for unprecedented career opportunities across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), work is still required to increase the diversity of the uniformed senior leadership (Department of Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion, 2020).1 The U.S. Air Force has led the way in this effort with its selection of the first-ever Black service chief and should continue to make its cadre of senior leaders more representative of the populations that it leads and serves.