Air Force leaders discourage use of gender specific pronouns in award citations

A U. S. Air Force leadership group is directing the Non-Commissioned Officers not to use gender pronouns when issuing awards to individual Airmen, instead advising that they use gender-neutral language.

"Do NOT use names or gender specific pronouns in your narratives," reads attached guidance in an email to leaders at Osan Air Base, South Korea, adding that award narratives should use neutral language such as "Airman," "Member," and "Individual" when referencing the awardee.

"Look to replace he/she his/hers with - they (this one can be both singular and plural)," the instructions continue.

The instructions, which were sent by the base's 5/6 leadership group, were emailed to dozens of Air Force leaders at the Osan Air Base, outlining new guidelines for giving Airman monthly and quarterly awards that are meant to "recognize your Airmen for their time, hard work, and continued dedication."

The 5/6 leadership group is an organization of Non-Commissioned Officers present on every Air Force Base and is not part of the Department of Defense, but whose members are all Air Force NCOs in the E5 and E6 pay grades. The groups are dedicated to "the service’s core values while establishing a network of motivated, dedicated and professional" NCOs.

The Osan 5/6 did not immediately respond ... (Read more)

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