Despite the . armed forces’ historical role as a model for racial integration and decades of Department of Defense (DoD) efforts to promote racial and ethnic diversity, many groups are still underrepresented within the department, especially among DoD’s active duty and civilian leadership. This is a particularly important issue for DoD because many military leaders believe that maintaining a diverse workforce is critical for the department’s national security mission. This report discusses the initial steps that DoD should take in developing a department-wide plan to achie.