WASHINGTON (AFNS) —  

A recent update to the Department of the Air Force writing guide, The Tongue and Quill, now allows Airmen and Guardians to include pronouns in their signature block.

The Tongue and Quill provides formatting standards and guidelines for a number of official documents, including email, memoranda, letters and papers.

“An inclusive force is a mission-ready force, and I’m thankful to the LGBTQ Initiatives Team for helping us realize this opportunity to be a more inclusive force,” said Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones.

The LGBTQ Initiatives Team, or LIT, a part of the Department of the Air Force Barrier Analysis Working Group, advocated for this change, one of the latest initiatives the DAF undertook to address barriers to service and promote a more inclusive culture.

“The change request was driven by awareness of a restrictive policy that was being used against transgender Airmen and Guardians who were authentically representing themselves,” said Lt. Col. Bree Fram, a LIT Transgender Policy Team co-lead. “It was also important for many individuals often confused as being a different gender in their communications.”

This effort was led by the LIT, with support from the Pacific Islander/Asian American Community Team, and the Women’s Initiatives Team, other teams of the DAFBAWG.
Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, the other LIT Transgender Policy Team co-lead, also explained that the explicit permission to use pronouns, a practice that is now common in the civilian sector, gets the DAF further down the road of explicitly acknowledging the existence and dignity of non-binary military members and civilians. She added that this change eliminates confusion for people with non-Anglo/Western or gender-neutral names.

“The LIT provided an opportunity to streamline the process for this change,” Hash said, explaining that this change was a request she started from her installation’s Diversity and Inclusion committee. “It is an example of how the DAFBAWG teams are addressing barriers, collaborating, and executing solutions in ways that have not been seen before to help Airmen and Guardians thrive.”

Official signature blocks should include name, rank, service affiliation, duty title, organization name, phone numbers and social media contact information. Pronouns such as he/him, she/her, or they/them are now authorized but not required. An example is:

ANGEL ALONSO, Capt, USAF (he/him/his)
Occupational Therapy Element Leader
48th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron
RAF Lakenheath, UK
DSN: 555-1212

Pronouns can be placed immediately after the name in parentheses or on separate lines within the signature block.

“A foundational competency of the DAF is to foster inclusion,” Fram said. “The use of correct pronouns is an easy way to show care and respect for Airmen and Guardians as individuals, and can help the DAF retain highly qualified individuals. Allowing pronouns in an individual’s signature block is a quick and simple way to eliminate confusion and promote a more inclusive culture.

By Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

The 505th CCW held a wing-wide workgroup to provide updates on upcoming major changes to 505th exercises and syllabi. The workgroup was advised by several U.S. Air Force senior mentors, including Lt. Gen. (ret) Russell Handy and Lt. Gen. (ret) Jeffrey Lofgren, who provided critical insights into how the wing can accelerate change.

Col. Frederick Coleman, 505th CCW commander, told his squadron and group commanders, “There are a lot of things in the operational C2 enterprise that we don’t control. But we own training, and if we want to enable the air component commanders to fight and win our nations wars, we have to get training right.”

Col. Coleman directed changes to the Air Operations Center initial qualification syllabus to ensure training includes academics on new and emerging systems; he directed the consolidation of AOC and Air Force Forces courses into a single air component course; and he gave guidance on changes to the 505th’s BLUE FLAG and VIRTUAL FLAG exercises to ensure they were more customer-focused and geared towards Agile Combat, or ACE, and resiliency requirements.

Coleman continued, “The 505th CCW has the Air Force’s largest pool of operational C2 subject matter experts. We have to leverage the knowledge and expertise in this wing to enable our warfighters.”

By Deb Henley

505th Command and Control Wing

Public Affairs