At the heart of our business is a passion to bridge the gap and remove social and systemic barriers, providing opportunities and ideas that lead all of us to a more equitable representation across industry, the defense tech sector, and the communities we serve.Gen. (Ret.) Dennis Via, Executive Vice President, Booz Allen
We're partnering with the nonprofit Blue Star Families to help military families of color feel more at home and included in the local communities where they live and serve. It's part of our enduring commitment to the nonprofit that has lasted for more than a decade. As the military works to build a diverse all-volunteer force, ensuring a sense of belonging and community is an imperative for force readiness and U.S. national security.
As part of groundbreaking research in its Campaign for Inclusion (CFI), Blue Star Families has surveyed military families of color annually since 2020. Creating an intentional space to listen to military families of color, the goal is to better understand how racism and discrimination impact them—and, by extension, overall military readiness.
To dig deeper into the data and jump-start robust discussion around this important work, we hosted a roundtable session together with Blue Star Families at The Helix, Booz Allen's Center for Innovation, in Washington, DC. Listening and problem-solving in a modern yet intimate setting created a trusting environment for participants to listen openly, think creatively, and build solutions together.
More than 80 military, government, community, and industry stakeholders took part in this convening. They shared findings from CFI research, highlighted best practices, and identified creative community solutions that help address the complex challenges to building a diverse all-volunteer force and building belonging for military families.
In establishing the CFI, Blue Star Families openly recognizes the defense community's recruiting and retention crisis, along with society's long history of discrimination. Significant findings from CFI research make it clear that representation matters. One in four active-duty respondents are part of a multiracial/multiethnic family. And by 2027, most recruitable U.S. adults will be people of color. To build bridges to belonging for military families of color, the defense community needs military and community leaders who are as diverse as the population they serve.
Proudly collaborating on CFI is just one way that we're innovating with Blue Star Families—and advancing critical issues that affect military readiness. For example, we're also supporting the CFI DEPLOY Fellowship Program, which helps build a pipeline of diverse and talented leaders within military- and veteran-serving organizations nationwide.
Through our innovative partnership with Blue Star Families, we're continuing to make a positive impact for the nation's military families—when and where it matters most. We aim to empower the military community from the inside out.