But what is most disheartening, as you read to the mid section of the article it says "Surveys show that parents, teachers, clergy and other “influencers” of black youth are advising against enlistment in the military, particularly U.S. ground forces."
Hey,parents,teachers,etc know that the RATS are doing their best to pull defeat from the jaws of victory and who can blame them from saying to themselves "hey,why would I want my son,student,etc to get caught up in the RATS' treasonous little game?"
With the exception of Come With The Cash Murtha, don't most Marines find existance as a Marine to be a source of real earned pride that lasts for life?
If that's true, I wouldn't be tempted to count quotas among races as represented. I would expect such things to have natural cycles. I would celebrate those that rise to the challenge, congratulate those that succeed, and encourage others to take a run at it. Oh, yes, I would point also point out that Come With The Cash just shows that recruiters are human, too, and can make mistakes, as can those charged with retaining Marines.
If we failed three events, we'd get sent home. After the second one, there would be a Progress Review Board, where three instructors would evaluate our performance to date. The Captain told us, "If you go to a board, I will make sure one member of the board is the same color you are."
That shocked everybody in the room. He gave it a second or two, then continued, "If you're wearing khaki, you'll have at least one Navy board member. If you're wearing green, you'll have at least one Marine board member."
Ten years in, and that's still how I view race in the military. Skin color means nothing compared to uniform color, which means nothing compared to the color of the flag on the sleeve.
it means we are winning the war
If only pop youth culture celebrated such heroes as they so deserve.