It is uncomfortable to speculate on the reasons but elite combat units require so much more than just athletic ability, it requires intelligence, a true individual inner courage, and true personal toughness, not just in a sports sense, but in dealing with being wet and cold and hungry for days at a time, the individual must have a doggedness to complete the mission and overcome obstacles, a complete sense of personal responsibility and commitment to always achieving the mission goals.
Those of us who served in ground units and loved the night, have even noticed the discomfort of some, who don’t like the night, and don’t like the woods, and of course water, and they really don’t like all of those things together at once, for instance stepping into deep water in pitch dark, fully clothed and equipped.
The AF specialties I listed as not having too many blacks are also the specialties that require the highest scores on AFQT. Just about all the PJs and combat controllers have historically some of the highest qualification scores in the Air Force. Then they go through some of the most rigorous training in the military and very few make the cut. Nothing needs to be really said for Air Traffic Controllers, they’re all brilliant and have nerves of steel. I am not saying that blacks can not perform in these highly technical and stressful specialties, but on the average that’s the way it’s always been in the military. Of course there are exceptions to this, but when I served those were my observations.