Diversity dearth: Army data reveal lack of black leadership in key commands

Stars and Stripes ^ | 9/13/14 | Vanden Brook

[pabianice]

And here I thought flag officers were selected from the best, not the most diverse.

[yldstrk]

believe me, the Army gives less than a sh8 about skin color, if you are competent, the job is yours, if you ain’t, you ain’t

[Olog-hai]

Wasn’t Colin Powell selected in that manner?

[Izzy Dunne]

military sociologists

Why does such a thing exist?

[ClearCase_guy]

In the Soviet Union, they were called Political Commissars.

[YankeeReb]

And here I thought flag officers were selected from the best, not the most diverse.

This is 0'Mugaube's military now. Straight White men need not apply.

[Future Snake Eater]

Black senior leaders were bitching about this when I was a cadet in the early 2000s. I’m sure the bitching goes much farther back than that. I still don’t GAS.

[Future Snake Eater]

believe me, the Army gives less than a sh8 about skin color, if you are competent, the job is yours, if you ain’t, you ain’t

How I wish that were so.

[bravo whiskey]

Colon Powell was an affirmative action promotion. Maybe we need to double the size of the army do we can have more brigades and, ergo, more command slots available. New headline. DEMOCRATS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST BLACKS BY DOWNSIZING THE ARMY.

[all the best]

It is shameful that racist insist on always pointing out that blacks are not keeping up with the rest of the world.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Allen West should be a Flag Officer. A GWB failure IMHO.

[arthurus]

Time for Affirmative Action in the Officer Corps and to do away with racist Merit selection.

[junta]

I believe the current army sgt major is a shirker who happens to be black who spent the GWOT going thru schools and then voila the second black president comes along and suddenly he steps into that role.

[Right Brother]

There is also a lack of red heads, midgets and paraplegics in leadership positions, so what?

[Former Proud Canadian]

Allen West should be SecDef. Let him handle it.

[arthurus]

Affirmative Action for blacks and women has also been in effect to some extent, at least for the desk officers. Affirmative action IS in effect for homosexuals all through the system.

[Radix]

It has been a well known secret for many years that Blacks both officers and enlisted tend to enter into the non combat arms MOS positions.

[ontap]

Or President!!!

[Gay State Conservative]

So now I don’t just look at my doctor and wonder “affirmative action?”....I have to do the same with my CO? Or with *his* CO?

[TADSLOS]

How I wish that were so.

No kidding. That certainly wasn't my experience for 25 years in uniform. Minority quotas for promotions and schools were common and it showed.