Black Military Population 2 2. Since 1980, the Black immigrant population has increased fivefold. Young minority officers from combat units have success at persuading cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and ROTC students at colleges to pursue careers in infantry, armor and aviation. Some 4% of all active duty personnel were Asian and an additional 6% identified as “other” or unknown. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which dates to 1942, is made up of the service chiefs from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and National Guard Bureau. Their enlistments have declined from 20 percent in 2000 to about 15 percent today—the level African Americans were enlisting in the military in the first year of the volunteer force, and a low for the all-volunteer era. Instead of recruiting, Pittard chose to enroll in the School for Advanced Military Studies at the Army's Command and General Staff College. Active duty service members commit to the military full time often as a career. In the Air Force, the other service that provided USA TODAY with demographic data for leadership of its combat units, three of 85 who command wings of warplanes are Black; 76, or 89%, are white. Considering that black Americans are about 13 percent of the country, one needs to ask, why do they represent double that amount in the military. "Was going to do four years and get out," he said. Interpersonal racism is also an issue. By 2045, the largest share of living veterans will have first served in the post-9/11 Gulf War era (35%). Lt. Gen. Gary Brito was one of three Black ROTC students at Penn State University in the mid-1980s. But assigning a promising minority infantry or artillery officer to teach military science and mentor students can delay or derail the officer's career, said Anselm Beach, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for equity and inclusion. "I'm thinking about how my nomination provides some hope but also comes with a heavy burden," Brown said. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax After integration, the military was slow to accept minority officers. In 2015, the largest share of veterans first served during the Vietnam era (33%). Garrett is a career infantry officer. "Then you reduce that pool, and you have a structural issue," Beach said. So, too, is military's ability to defend the nation. The share of racial and ethnic minorities in the military has grown steadily in recent decades. Still love what I do. Quiz: Are you a Core Conservative? Casualty statistics from Vietnam show how those perceptions formed, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. This trend has been particularly true for the Army, where NPS African American enlistments have dropped from 23.5 percent in 2000 to 14 percent, exactl… He adopted, he said, the attitude that "any obstacle can be breached.". Another sign of progress: More young minority officers are choosing combat assignments. “The strength and future of our armed forces is its diversity. The American Veteran Experience and the Post-9/11 Generation. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Follow him on Twitter @tvandenbrook. In 2014, when USA TODAY began collecting such data, the Army had no Black colonels leading its combat arms units. For example, as of FY09, the percentage of Black enlisted Soldiers in the active-duty Some 43 percent of the 1.3 million men and women on active duty in the United States military are people of color. ", Brito, the Army's top personnel officer, does not recall overt racism blocking his ascent but allowed that his path was "a little more challenging than for others." I’m a firm believer in that, and it gives our Army a strategic advantage. 2016: First black female lieutenant general and the highest-ranking woman to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy Profile of U.S. veterans is changing dramatically as their ranks decline, 6 facts about the U.S. military and its changing demographics, How Millennials today compare with their grandparents 50 years ago, The changing face of Congress in 7 charts, The changing face of America’s veteran population, Broad Public Support for Coronavirus Aid Package; Just a Third Say It Spends Too Much, Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins, Growing Share of Americans Say They Plan To Get a COVID-19 Vaccine – or Already Have. Lt. Gen. Nadja West. In May 2020, there were 19 Black one-star generals in the Army, 15 two-stars, eight three-stars and one four-star, according to Defense Department data. In 2017, 57% of U.S. servicemembers were white, 16% were black and 16% were Hispanic. Elimination of photos for review by promotion boards is on the leading edge of the effort. Since 2014, the Army has seen a slow but generally steady increase in the number of young Black officers choosing combat assignments, according to newly released data. The relatively few Black officers who rose through the ranks in the 1980s and 1990s often saw few minority officers as role models to encourage them. In 2017, 57% of U.S. servicemembers were white, 16% were black and 16% were Hispanic. Likewise, the study found that the military program tends to be present at schools with higher minority populations: At schools with JROTC, black students make up 29.4 percent … One of those university graduates who accepted an infantry assignment is Beagle's son, 1st Lt. Jordan Beagle. Today’s military is comprised of service members who served during a wide range of eras, from World War II to the post-9/11 conflicts. As a young officer in the 1990s, he was assigned to recruiting command, a move that would have limited his career options. "'This is bull crap.'". the reason I looked this up is they said yesterday that Obama only had 15% of the military's approval on what he is doing so I wondered if it was just the blacks ! @Ramesses V ,, thanks for the info after reading all the stupid replies here I didnt think anyone would give a answer so thanks! The share of racial and ethnic minorities in the military has grown steadily in recent decades. Later, conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan increased the overall size of the military. Retired Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard graduated from West Point in 1981 and said he was actively discouraged from climbing the ranks of armor, his career field. "We can't bring them in when they're 30 years old and pin major or lieutenant colonel promotions on them. The percentage of officers who are women has steadily grown since the 1970s. "They weren't thought to be smart enough to be in combat arms," Beagle said. When the draft ended in 1973, women represented just 2 percent of the enlisted forces and 8 percent of the officer corps. In fact, a majority of Americans (56%) estimate that the percentage of blacks in this country stands at 30% or higher. Congress has a duty to ensure military leadership understand and heed that fact.”. In 2020, more than 10% chose that path. Blacks have consistently been represented in greater shares among enlisted personnel (19% in 2015) than among the commissioned officers (9%). But the perception persisted. Military Demographics The following Air Force active duty demographics information is current as of 31 October 2020 . (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. A look at the racial and ethnic profile of active duty service members shows that while the majority of the military is non-Hispanic white, black and Hispanic adults represent sizable and growing shares of the armed forces. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Military officers have considerably higher levels of educational attainment, on average, than enlisted … "I can't fix centuries of racism in our country, nor can I fix decades of discrimination that may have impacted members of our Air Force.". Value for the US (Percent): 13.4% Data item: Black or African American alone, percent Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (PEP). The Army is the most diverse with more than 21percent African Americans, while the Marine Corp is the least, with 10%. In 2017, women represented 16% of the overall active duty force, up from 9% in 1980 and just 1% in 1970. For visible minorities, it’s 11.8 percent by 2026, up from the 2016 level of 6.7 percent. Officer Candidate School, ROTC programs and West Point have all seen increases. Despite the declines, the percentage of blacks in the military continues to exceed the percentage in the U.S. population. WASHINGTON – The lack of Black officers in the Army’s combat commands has diminished the chances for diversity in military leadership for years to come, resulting in a nearly all-white leadership of an increasingly diverse military and nation. The military's reckoning with racial inequality coincides with national unrest that erupted after the. This statistic shows the distribution of active-duty enlisted women and men in the U.S. Military in … By 2017, the share of active duty military who were non-Hispanic white had fallen, while racial and ethnic minorities made up 43% – and within that group, blacks dropped from 51% in 2004 to 39% in 2017 just as the share of Hispanics rose from 25% to 36%. Across all branches of the military, African Americans composed 11% of all troops. 11% are black, 6.1% are Hispanic, and 78% are white. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Reservists are likely to have civilian jobs outside their Reserve commitments. The story is only slightly better an echelon below brigade. Reservists support active duty by being ready and “in reserve” in case active duty troops are stretched thin and more support is needed. National Guard members defend the homeland. National Guard units operate on a state level. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who chairs the military personnel panel on the Armed Services Committee, sponsored a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act that would establish diversity goals, plans to meet them and a special inspector general for racial and ethnic disparities. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS). The overall size of the U.S. military has been on a downward trajectory for several decades. At the officer levels, this is a decrease from 21%, 18.4% and 12.6%, respectively, in 2010. The experience taught him that unless the Army encourages minority officers and offers them challenging assignments, diversity in its senior ranks will be left to chance. The gender dynamics also have changed over the course of the past 50 years, with more women serving in the military – and as ranking officers – in 2017 than ever before. At the very top sit the chairman and vice chairman, the top two officers in the military. Compare that with white Army generals: 107 one-stars, 90 two-stars, 37 three-stars and 11 four-stars. But the people making crucial … Many Black troops do succeed but not without overcoming obstacles. Gen. Michael Garrett, commanding general of Forces Command, is the Army's lone Black four-star officer. In 1968, out of the 400,000 officers, there were only 8325 African American officers. Black people make up 22.7% of enlisted soldiers, 16.5% of warrant officers and 11% of officers on active duty as of July. Out of 60 Marine generals, five brigadier generals and one major general are Black. Total Force Military Demographics . Overview of US Air Force military personnel (Officer and Enlisted) based on Race, Ethnicity, and Gender demographics for Active Duty, Air National Guard, and Reserve components This chart shows male percentage in blue and female percentage … There are no women either. Latinos are only 8% of the officer corps and 2% of general/flag officers. Therefore, about 7% of the population would be military veterans. What percentage of the U.S. Military is black? In 2017, there were roughly 1.34 million men and women serving on active duty. In Vietnam the military death ratio was 85.6 percent white to 12.4 percent black. What percentage of the US Army was black? Even 100 years later, commanders such as Milford Beagle are few and far between. In the Korean War, 80 percent of military deaths were white; 8.4 percent were African-American. Today’s active duty military is smaller and more racially and ethnically diverse than in previous generations. About 20 percent of the U.S. military is black, compared to 13 percent of all Americans, according to recently released Defense Department statistics. 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA Army Gen. Colin Powell, the first and only Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the leap to the top without having served as chief of staff of the Army. However, a disproportionate number were made officers, with only 5% of Army officers African American, and 2% across all branches. Population and Housing Unit Estimates. The military, with African Americans making up a little over 17 percent of its active duty ranks, is more racially diverse than the country, which is 13% African American, according to 2019 Census estimates. "We must thoughtfully examine our institution and ensure it is a place where all Americans see themselves represented and have equal opportunity to succeed, especially in leadership positions," chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said July 9 in testimony before Congress. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World. Hispanics make up about 16% of all active-duty military, according to the Department of Defense, but Latinos are only 8% of the officer corps and 2% of general/flag officers, according to a report in 2019 by the Congressional Research Service. "I said, 'This is crap," Pittard said. Black service members make up 17 percent of the military force. These statistics are from the current inventory and does not include the Guard, Reserve or AirForce Academy (approx 4,000 cadets). Some 4% of all active duty personnel were Asian and an additional 6% identified as “other” or unknown. Hispanics, in particular, are the fastest growing minority population in the military – a shift that aligns with larger demographic trends in the United States. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. Most of it is economic disadvatage. Some of the declines in military participation that followed the Cold War and Gulf War were halted with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Why do so few Black officers lead combat units? "Those are things we are looking at.". In 1966, Blacks accounted for 22.4% of all troops killed in action in 1966 while making up 18% of the Army and about 17% of the Marine Corps. At the battalion level, where lieutenant colonels are in charge of about 700 soldiers, there are 13 Black commanders out of 231 combat units, or 5.6%. A study published in 2016 in the peer-reviewed journal Sage found that white military veterans expressed more “virulent attitudes” toward African Americans relative to their civilian counterparts. For example, in 1975, 5% of commissioned officers were women, and, by 2017, that share had risen to 18%. “The public that we serve should see a reflection of that public in our ranks. Brito recalled that his fondness for the outdoors and interest in leading soldiers meshed well with infantry. But we do.”. What percentage of the military actually fight? She called the finding a “glaring example of structural racism.”, “Failure to cultivate leadership that is truly representative of America threatens troop morale and cohesion,” Speier said. Brown spoke openly about discrimination in the military. The rest of the service chiefs, the chairman and vice chairman are white. The Black-only population is 13.4%. Looking out to our threats that are out there, they may not necessarily have that. Black airmen were twice as likely to face punishment as their white counterparts. There's also the matter of choice. The percentage of black officers in the services has remained fairly steady since 1995 — about 5%-7% in the Navy, Air Force and Marines, and 10%-15% in the Army. The Marines have the least diversity in their top ranks. Elimination of photos for review by promotion boards is on the leading edge of the effort. There is evidence of systemic racism in the military's criminal justice system. Along the way, these officers typically have led smaller units at the platoon and company level, acquiring specialized leadership and tactical skills for leading forces into battle. From top to bottom and left to right," said Brig. Black people make up 22.7% of enlisted soldiers, 16.5% of warrant officers and 11% of officers on active duty as of July. Leading the Army’s combat units is a critical stepping stone to the four-star ranks. Consider the new commanders of the Army's operational brigades, including front-line units such as infantry, artillery and armor: There are 96 such brigades of about 4,000 soldiers each led by a colonel. The other services also struggle to diversify their senior ranks. "Anytime you have a team that has diversity of thought, diversity of color, diversity of culture – all those things – it’s going to be a much stronger team. We can break this down further. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Heavy casualties among African Americans, particularly early in the Vietnam War, and the prospect of better post-military employment options made noncombat units such as logistics a preferred choice. He knew he'd find a combat assignment after graduation.
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