DEOMI was established in 1971 as the Defense Race Relations Institute (DRRI) based on lessons learned from the
Civil Rights Movement. Set against a national policy of inequality and segregation, and problems both in the civilian world and the military linked to racial tension and hostility, military leaders understood that working together across racial lines was not only the right thing to do but also a necessary element in terms of military readiness. Consequently, an inter-service task force was convened to study "causes and possible cures of...disorders within the military." Chaired by
Air Force Major General Lucius Theus, the task force resulted in Department of Defense Directive 1322.11, establishing the Race Relations Education Board, and led to the 1971 establishment of the DRRI at Patrick AFB, Florida, under the leadership of the first director, Col. Edward F. Krise, USA. In July 1979 the name was changed to the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, to reflect the growing array of issues included in DEOMI courses, including sexual harassment, sexism, extremism, religious accommodation, and
anti-Semitism. DEOMI is currently housed in a two-story building that houses classes, faculty offices, a library, computer rooms, research areas, and an auditorium. It is a state-of-the-art facility in terms of audio-visual communications and presentation resources. It was dedicated on January 14, 2004.
DEOMI Press The DEOMI Press is the editing and publishing arm of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. The DEOMI Press edits and publishes DEOMI's newsletters, periodicals, technical reports, and cultural observance materials. The DEOMI Press was established in 2010 by Dr. Daniel P. McDonald, executive director of research, development, and strategic Initiatives at DEOMI.
Military leadership conferences, research symposiums and seminars In addition to residential courses and off-site programs led by its training teams, DEOMI's Research Directorate, led by Dr. Daniel P. McDonald, conducts research for all branches of the armed forces and hosts special events for military and civilian leaders. One example was the July 2009 symposium on cross-cultural competence (also known as 3C) for approximately 200 "leaders, practitioners, operators, and researchers." 3C is defined as "the capability one possesses to effectively adapt and interact with others from different cultures or background, essential for a culturally adaptive total force. Dr. McDonald and his team researched and defined the general cross-cultural competencies every DoD leader should possess.
DEOMI Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) The Command Climate Survey was developed by the DEOMI Research team led by Dr. Daniel P. McDonald. DEOCS is the DoD's universal survey instrument for commanders to assess their organizational climate related to human relations and organizational effectiveness issues. In the National Defense Authorization Acts of 2013 and 2015, it became law that every commander, upon assumption of command, must take a command climate survey with 90 days; and that commanders must follow up annually thereafter. in 2015, the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD (P&R)) issued a memorandum declaring DEOCS as the command climate assessment survey for the Department of Defense. In 2011, Dr. Daniel P. McDonald and his team began to develop a capability for DEOCS that went beyond merely providing a near real-time survey service for commanders, and began to develop a continuous performance support and improvement system around the assessment capability called the 'Assessment to Solutions' system. ==The Claiborne D. Haughton Jr. Research Library==