WASHINGTON:
Sixty years after US President Truman desegregated the military, senior black
officers are still rare, particularly among the highest
ranks.
Blacks make up about 17%
of the total force, yet just 9% of all officers. That fraction falls to less
than 6% for general officers with one to four stars, according to data obtained
and analyzed by the
Associated
Press
.
The
rarity of blacks in the top ranks is apparent in one startling statistic: Only
one of the 38 four-star Generals or Admirals serving as of May was black. And
just 10 black men have ever gained four-star rank - five in the army, four in
the air force and one in the navy, according to the
Pentagon.
The dearth of blacks
in high-ranking positions gives younger African-American soldiers few mentors of
their own race. And as the overall percentage of blacks in the service falls,
the situation seems unlikely to
change.
Still, officials this
week can point to some historic gains by blacks in the services as the Pentagon
commemorates Truman's signing of an executive order on July 26, 1948, mandating
the end of segregation in the military. Best known among the four-stars is
retired Gen Colin Powell, who later became the country's first Black Secretary
of State, under President Bush. Another is retired general Johnnie Wilson, who
in 1961, spied an 'Uncle Sam Wants You' poster and joined the army. Over the
next 38 years, he rose to become a
General.
Why haven't more done
the same? For one thing, Wilson said, "it's hard to tell young people the sky's
the limit when they look up and don't see anyone" who looks like them. The army
has led the way with black officers, with nearly double the percentage at times
over three decades as the other services. Blacks represented 12% of all army
officers during that time, compared with 8% in the navy, air force and
marines.
In 1998, nearly a
quarter of all active duty black officers were in various combat fields. As of
this month, that had fallen to 20%, compared with nearly 40% for
non-blacks.
The reasons for the
lack of blacks in the higher ranks range from career choices to Congress and
family recommendations. Most often mentioned is they show less interest in
pursuing combat jobs.
"Kids
I've spoken to, who choose to do supply, who choose to do lawyer, who choose to
do admin, have the impression that 'If I go to army and become an infantry
person, that is not a skill that I can carry to the civilian work force,'" said
Clarence Johnson, director of Pentagon's office of diversity management.