The Promotion of Junior Minority Officers in the United States Army 1971 -1994

Abstract

Although the Army promotes its officers based on their potential to perform at the next higher grade, promotion boards must remain sensitive to the selection of junior minority officers and their impact on future readiness. The Army has five racial/ethnic categories for minority officers: Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian Pacific, and Others. An officer self declares his race upon entering the service. Reporting accuracy is dependent on soldiers selecting the racial/ethnic designation that best describes their heritage. Racial/ethnic goals are important to all services, yet it is not the driving force for the Army nor any service. An identifiable group of non-minority officers dominates leadership positions in the Army. The current promotion system adequately produces outstanding professional officers and leaders; however, the system has room for improvement. Currently, the Department of the Army (DA) Secretariat for Selection Boards conducts all command, promotion, school, selective early retirement (SERB), and reduction in force (RIF) boards. The Secretary of the Army issues guidance and is the main charter for conducting all centralized selection boards. He issues the requirements and goals for each board. There is a distinct difference between requirements (mandatory number of promotions) and goals (minority, gender, and skill levels the board strives to meet). Since 1970, the goal of each promotion board has been to select a number of minority and female officers equal to the first time overall select rate for the board. There are no penalties nor recourse when a board does not meet a stated minority goal. The board members must address the issue in their after-action report. The current lack of minority officer role models and non-selection of junior minority officers to fill those positions in the future, present the Army with a negative equal opportunity perception and impact on future readiness.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA529428

Entities

People

  • Odie L. Butler Iii

Organizations

  • Marine Corps War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Active Duty
  • Artillery
  • Department Of Defense
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Military Education
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Minority Groups
  • Native Americans
  • Personnel Management
  • Sociology
  • Students
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Warrant Officers

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Naval Personnel Management