[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.

[USAF80]

I pulled these stats off the Army site.

I can’t copy and paste so I’ll just type them out. This is FY2011

Total Force Army
White 62%
Black 20%

Maneuver Fire & Effects
White 48%
Black 21%

Operation Support
White 13%
Black 13%

Force Sustainment
White 21%
Black 48%

The Army mirrors the US population as far as age and having a HS diploma.

US 18-24 old with HS diploma Army Enlisted w HSD
White 57% 62%
Black 18% 20%