African American Officers' Role in the Future Army
Abstract
On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9981 by President Harry S. Truman granting African Americans legal integration into all services, the U.S. Army continues to be lauded as the nation's leading agency in developing policies to ensure that all military personnel are given a fair and equal chance at advancement. However, this standing has recently come under scrutiny by the media and by senior African American officers. Army leadership, too, has taken a closer look at factors that affect minority advancement. African Americans comprise 11 percent of the total officer corps. This number has remained constant over a three-year reporting period, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center, but the release of the army's Colonel (06) Board results for fiscal year 1998 highlighted an area of concern that seemingly had gone unnoticed. While the overall board selection rate was 39 percent, the African American selection rate was 19.1 percent, between 15 and 30 percent lower than in preceding years since 1993. In short, both test results and broader concerns suggest that the army's effort to fully integrate its officer corps has not been completely successful.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA352899
Entities
People
- Carrie W. Kendrick
Organizations
- United States Army War College