Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
colin powell is black
he is a general
obama is black
he will be the next commander in chief
if 11% of the population is black and
9% of military officers are black
i think that speaks very well of the US military.
Last edited by Huckleberry3911948; 07-28-2008 at 06:19 PM..
Alot has to do with the college educated and the military. Many of them who graduate from college do not go into the military. Mostly internal medicine, law & sports.
I thought about going into the Air Force, but the basic training is the only thing keeping me back. If they would waive that requirement for a desk job I'd be on it in a heartbeat.
Oh come on...if my son can pass basic in San Antonio in the Air Force, you surely can. Their basic is nothing compared to the Army and Marine Corp.
The Air Force is also pickier at who they take. Background checks, financial checks, you name it. The Army...well, let's just say that they may go back to taking jail birds for recruits like the ol' days. Remember that saying? "Join the military or go to jail?"
Basic training in the miltary, even in the Marine Corps, is not the hardest part of your military career.
Anyways, we have a military made up of volunteers and if black folks don't want to take up positions as officers, that's their right. As long as we're getting the most qualified candidates of any color, it's ok.
The article brings up a good point that you don't often see blacks going out for combat related jobs that are pretty much crucial towards climbing the ranks as an officer. I can't think of many that have been in my unit and I know that most Marine Corps, Ranger and Special Forces units are overwhelmingly white with a noteworthy amount of Hispanics.
It's not about being hard. It's about being pointless. If I'm going to be sitting at a desk processing paperwork or working on a computer, there's no logic to having me train for combat duty. I know the military wants to make sure its enlists are ready to be shipped off to war, but the reality is a significant number of office-bound enlists are in no shape to be in any war, which means they went through BT and never again thereafter. So why bother in the first place?
BOT, I've always believed that the military offers the most opportunity to succeed, regardless of race, of any company or organization in the U.S.A. Is it perfect? No. But for those with the interest and ability to apply themselves, there really are no barriers to promotion in the U.S. military. And I've never understood why percentage of a race in an organization vs. the percentage of those in any given race at the higher ranks or positions is even a consideration. Does every black who enters the military want to make Chief or General? I doubt it. I know that not every white who enters the military has that goal. And I believe that "filling quotas" doesn't get the right person for the job. As the above poster says, many go on to other opportunities after their first commitment is up. In the USAF, only 1% of the entire enlisted force can be promoted to Senior Master Sergeant and ONLY 1% of the entire enlisted force can make Chief Master Sergeant, the highest enlisted rank. That's a WHOLE lot of well-deserving Airmen (of all races and both sexes) that won't make it to the top. That's the way life works...
It's not about being hard. It's about being pointless. If I'm going to be sitting at a desk processing paperwork or working on a computer, there's no logic to having me train for combat duty. I know the military wants to make sure its enlists are ready to be shipped off to war, but the reality is a significant number of office-bound enlists are in no shape to be in any war, which means they went through BT and never again thereafter. So why bother in the first place?
I can sort of speak to that. It is a competence and risk related thing. Just because you might think all is well "in the rear, with the gear," the battle-zone goes much deeper. There is no place in the military that is exempt from being shot at.
Even Medical -- that would seem safe enough, huh? But it is really not. My old medical unit did front and center in Baghdad, this time around. It would be very wrong to expose troops and people to that risk and environ without the training to prepare and survive in it.
Basic also teaches the structure and culture of the military and tends to bond the individuals that come into a larger group where teamwork and subordination to authority is recognized. There are civie positions that handle all sorts of services in and for the military if one really does not want to be a part of the full team, but troops are best lead from the front, and to be a leader (e.g. officer as per this story) you have to be a full part of the team.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
