Berkeley CSUA MOTD:Entry 27174
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2003/1/21-22 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:27174 Activity:moderate
1/21    Blacks are disproportionally used as 'the service sector' in the
        military and have less (often far less) than their share of high
        profile positions as pilots, special forces, etc.
        http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030121/4794964s.htm
        \_ But doesn't that also mean they have less than their share of
           getting killed?  And they have a problem with that?
           \_ Bzzt.  They're more than equally represented in the infantry,
              making them more likely to get killed and less likely to get
              recognized.  Besides, what you meant to ask is why would a
              brother want to fight a white man's war against dark people
              anyway?
              \_ Errr... Did you not read the article, or are you just
                 stupid?  "Of the Army's 45,586 enlisted combat
                 infantryman, 10.6% are black."  "they make up a far
                 smaller percentage of troops in combat jobs on the front
                 line."  While true this means they're less likely to be
                 promoted.  More likely than racism, that probably means
                 they aren't planning to be carrer military.  Note that
                 they are more likely to pick jobs that will help in the
                 civilian world.  Sounds smart to me.  More likely there
                 are more poor white folk in the special forces because
                 their raised on the GI Joe mentality.  (Any one who
                 dosen't think so needs to spend more time with both
                 poor whites and poor blacks.)
                 \_ Look, there are two possible explanations for this.
                    1) racism, or
                    2) something else.
                    In all cases, the correct answer is racism.
                 \_ Hey! Stop reading article links and bringing those mean
                    and nasty *FACTS* into this!  Bastard!  How dare you
                    challenge my agenda driven beliefs?
        \_ It also means less chance for promotion/advancement/specialized
           training.
Cache (1285 bytes)
www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030121/4794964s.htm
In a little-publicized trend, black recruits have gravitated toward non-combat jobs that provide marketable skills for post-military careers, while white soldiers are over-represented in front-line combat forces. The tilt toward white combat troops is recognized by many senior commanders and a small group of scholars who study the military. Though Rangel is right that blacks and lower-income Americans still serve in disproportionate numbers, that fact misses another significant trend. In a host of high-risk slots -- from Army commandos to Navy and Air Force fighter pilots -- blacks constitute less than 5% of the force, statistics show. Blacks, especially in the enlisted ranks, tend to be disproportionately drawn to non-combat fields such as unit administration and communications. They are underrepresented in jobs shooting rifles or dropping bombs. Senior Air Force officials say they are troubled by the number of black pilots and plan to do better. Only 196 of the Army's 4,278 enlisted Green Berets -- fewer than 5% -- are black. The reasons for the racial divide are unclear, but several theories have emerged, including lingering racism in some quarters of the military and a tendency among black recruits to choose jobs that help them find work in the civilian sector.