This year\u2019s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month observance is a celebration of the ability to excel despite limited opportunities, a senior Navy official said here today.<\/p>\n
James C. Meng, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for enterprise business solutions, discussed the Defense Department\u2019s observance, with a theme of \u201cI Am Beyond,\u201d and the department\u2019s efforts in diversity.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThis [theme] was picked by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center,\u201d he said, \u201cto \u2026 represent Asian-American and Pacific Islanders\u2019 strong tendencies to excel despite very limited opportunities provided for us.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think retrospectively from the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1883 to [1943],\u201d Meng continued, \u201cand then Executive Order 9066 that interned the Japanese-Americans in 1942, America really has come a very long way in evening the playing field for all its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n Meng expressed his \u201csincere gratitude\u201d for the sacrifices made in the U.S. civil rights movement.<\/p>\n Asian-American and Pacific Islanders represent about 30 countries and ethnic groups, Meng noted, and they speak more than 100 different languages. \u201cIt represents a very diverse culture, he added.<\/p>\n Meng noted President Barack Obama\u2019s national defense strategy emphasizes a pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, and he said the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community has an opportunity to make more contributions to bridge any culture gaps in those initiatives.<\/p>\n He cited former U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, Rep. Tammy Duckworth and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki as a few examples of distinguished service members who made a contribution defending American values and also being part of the community contributing to American society.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey not only made those contributions,\u201d Meng said. \u201cThey served as role models for the rest of the Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders to replicate that type of contribution.\u201d It\u2019s important for DOD to recognize their contributions, and also to remind the constantly renewing workforce that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are continuing to make contributions, he added.<\/p>\n Multiple DOD initiatives, through its Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity have been leveraging external nonprofit organizations, such as the Federal Asian-American and Pacific Islander Council and Asian-American Government Executive Network for mentoring, leadership and outreach, Meng said.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to say that I\u2019m very, very impressed,\u201d he added. \u201cDue to my position over the past 10 years since I\u2019ve been assigned to Washington, D.C., I have been exposed to [much] of the great work that they\u2019ve been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Meng noted he has worked with several chiefs of naval operations, including Adm. Mike Mullen, Adm. Gary Roughead and now Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have made enormous strides,\u201d he said. \u201cBack in 2008, we had only one Asian-American Pacific Islander flag officer,\u201d he said. \u201cBut through their consistent effort, bringing about an emphasis [on this], now there are 12 flag officers, so in six years they had a 1,200 percent improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n That kind of change, he said, clearly delineates the commitment of the Navy\u2019s leadership in making those changes.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure the other services have made similar progress,\u201d he said. \u201cBut since I work for the Navy, I\u2019m more aware of it. Overall, I\u2019m very impressed by what DOD and each service has been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Meng encouraged young professionals to seek some of the many opportunities the DOD has to offer.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many opportunities for young professionals — not just for Asian-Americans — for all Americans,\u201d he said. \u201cI personally feel that this is a very fertile ground for young professionals to cultivate and pursue their passions.\u201d He specifically noted opportunities in language, science, engineering and technology, where he said he believes that if people are willing to work for the department, they will have very productive careers.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I have been enormously grateful for the opportunities I\u2019ve been given since I came to work for the Navy for 27 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meng said he\u2019s been \u201ctruly challenged\u201d by the eight different senior executive service positions he\u2019s held, and that they\u2019ve been \u201cvery, very different.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other hand,\u201d he said, \u201cwithout those high standards, \u2026 when I look back, I would have never been able to accomplish what I have been able to contribute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meng said he believes his Asian culture is intrinsic of respecting people\u2019s dignity, and his collaborative tendencies have helped him a great deal in accomplishing his missions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other important part is my ethnic background, which is very different from Western culture,\u201d he said. \u201cMy professional experience and technical expertise [bring] a very different perspective and angle which, a lot times, contributes to finding the solutions that would otherwise be overlooked.\u201d<\/p>\n That aspect, Meng said, is a \u201cfundamental reason\u201d why the department is pursuing diversity, because many problems have been solved from bringing diverse approaches to the table.<\/p>\n Meng again expressed his gratitude for DOD\u2019s diversity and the many people who have shed their blood, overcome bias and engendered fair thinking. \u201cWithout their sacrifices, we would not be able to talk about those things that people like myself can contribute,\u201d he said. \u201cI personally felt that I have made a unique contribution.\u201d<\/p>\n Meng also noted that Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, then undersecretary of the Navy, listened to his recommendations to establish an executive diversity council for the Navy almost three years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is real progress,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are real people dealing with real issues. I have full confidence that the Navy and other services are looking at the best practices to help accelerate meeting overall diversity management initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n via www.defense.gov<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This year\u2019s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month observance is a celebration of the ability to excel despite limited<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","large":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x90.jpg","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"Admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53e6cdc30765aade0129f85e5aeb50124b1d3f5bb9a70373be31e4eb328371e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"This year\u2019s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month observance is a celebration of the ability to excel despite limited","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["News"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":128,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":5,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg",113,170,false],"medium":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u.jpg",113,170,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/u-113x150.jpg",113,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?author=1"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/53e6cdc30765aade0129f85e5aeb50124b1d3f5bb9a70373be31e4eb328371e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"News<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}