[USAF80]

I don’t know about that. I can only tell from personal observations. In the staging areas I saw mainly whites. I have no idea what fields the troops were in as I was not forward located.

If you check the services demographics it does mirror the US as a whole. There may be a percentage point or two off.

[mrsmel]

I just found one source which says that app 80% of all combat troops are white male. I’m looking for a few more before I post a link.

[mrsmel]

These statistics are from USA Today Jan '03. I don't see where they say what their source was--

Though Rangel is right that blacks and lower-income Americans still serve in disproportionate numbers, that fact misses another significant trend. While blacks are 20% of the military — compared with 12% of the U.S. population — they make up a far smaller percentage of troops in combat jobs on the front line.

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.

Examples:

Of the Army's 45,586 enlisted combat infantryman, 10.6% are black.
Of the Air Force's 12,000 pilots, 245, or about 2%, are black.
In the Navy, 2.5% of the pilots are black.

[PapaBear3625]

I don’t know about that. I can only tell from personal observations. In the staging areas I saw mainly whites. I have no idea what fields the troops were in as I was not forward located.

Blacks seem to prefer the support MOS's, jobs where they can get skills transferable to civilian life when they're done with military life. If you look at Special Forces, SEALs, etc, it's mainly white and Hispanic.

Another measure is the relative number of casualties. Blacks made up about 13% of the Army, yet accounted for just 8% of casualties in Afghanistan

[Eldon Tyrell]

I believe the question related to the point of the spear - not the office workers in Alabama.

The closer you get to the point - the whiter it gets.

Why don’t you do some homework and find out.

The more honestly selective the group gets - the harder to overcome that 15 IQ points. Those 15 points - are crushing.

There are - possibly - some other demographics involved. An enlisted guy smart enough to be a SEAL - for instance - if Black - is college scholarship material. Affirmative Action sends him to college. And not watchamcallit State either. Blacks goto Duke with 1250 M+V. 1050 is a good score for Blacks. 50%ile for whites.