and Caucasians under-represented?
When some so-called "real" American patriots claim that all Black people are welfare leeches draining the economy etc etc. do they not realize that African Americans are doing more than their share of fighting for this country? I guess they would prefer that all the Black people serving in the military withdraw...?
Do they not also realize that this attitude as well as some of the Tea Party movement antics discourages some Black youth who would have otherwise served from doing so? (I personally know of an example of this occurring)
ARTICLE:
"Ethnic makeup of military differs from U.S. society as a whole
By Rick Maze
Times staff writer
A new congressional report says the military is not a mirror of society.
There are proportionately more blacks and fewer Hispanics in the military than in the population as a whole, according to a report on demographics of the all-volunteer force, released Friday by the Government Accountability Office.
There are other differences, too. There are substantially fewer women in the military and proportionately fewer service members have attended college than in the population as a whole.
The report was prepared at the request of Reps. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to try to determine if the military is becoming more or less representative of the U.S. population over the past few years.
Rangel is interested because he has called for a return to a military draft, which he believes is necessary because the sacrifices of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are not being evenly shared.
The report shows there are some significant differences in the makeup of the military and the civilian work force in the U.S.
• Whites are underrepresented in the military. The U.S. work force is 71 percent Caucasian— or other ethnic groups included as whites — while the military is 67 percent white.
• Blacks are overrepresented, comprising 17 percent of the military and 11 percent of the civilian work force
• Hispanics are underrepresented, making up 9 percent of the military and 11 percent of the work force.
• Women, not surprisingly, are also underrepresented, comprising just 16 percent of the military, although policies and laws restricting assignment possibilities for women are the chief reason, not other recruiting factors.
• Deaths of U.S. troops in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom also have been disproportionate to ethnic makeup of the military, the report states. Based on the 1,841 deaths and 12,658 wounded service members as of May 28, when the report was being prepared, 71 percent of the dead are classified as white, 9 percent as black and 10 percent as Hispanic."
When some so-called "real" American patriots claim that all Black people are welfare leeches draining the economy etc etc. do they not realize that African Americans are doing more than their share of fighting for this country? I guess they would prefer that all the Black people serving in the military withdraw...?
Do they not also realize that this attitude as well as some of the Tea Party movement antics discourages some Black youth who would have otherwise served from doing so? (I personally know of an example of this occurring)
ARTICLE:
"Ethnic makeup of military differs from U.S. society as a whole
By Rick Maze
Times staff writer
A new congressional report says the military is not a mirror of society.
There are proportionately more blacks and fewer Hispanics in the military than in the population as a whole, according to a report on demographics of the all-volunteer force, released Friday by the Government Accountability Office.
There are other differences, too. There are substantially fewer women in the military and proportionately fewer service members have attended college than in the population as a whole.
The report was prepared at the request of Reps. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., to try to determine if the military is becoming more or less representative of the U.S. population over the past few years.
Rangel is interested because he has called for a return to a military draft, which he believes is necessary because the sacrifices of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are not being evenly shared.
The report shows there are some significant differences in the makeup of the military and the civilian work force in the U.S.
• Whites are underrepresented in the military. The U.S. work force is 71 percent Caucasian— or other ethnic groups included as whites — while the military is 67 percent white.
• Blacks are overrepresented, comprising 17 percent of the military and 11 percent of the civilian work force
• Hispanics are underrepresented, making up 9 percent of the military and 11 percent of the work force.
• Women, not surprisingly, are also underrepresented, comprising just 16 percent of the military, although policies and laws restricting assignment possibilities for women are the chief reason, not other recruiting factors.
• Deaths of U.S. troops in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom also have been disproportionate to ethnic makeup of the military, the report states. Based on the 1,841 deaths and 12,658 wounded service members as of May 28, when the report was being prepared, 71 percent of the dead are classified as white, 9 percent as black and 10 percent as Hispanic."