Minorities In The Military

Before WORLD WAR I, military service represented a source of black pride. Black educators, clergymen, and the press frequently referred to Negro heroes of America’s past wars. After the Civil War, the U.S, Army maintained four regular Negro regiments –the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry. These units included veterans of the civil war and the frontier Indian fighting regiments. Retired sergeants often became respected, conservative leaders in their communities. This history set a foundation for black support and involvement in America’s future wars.

Military personnel are deployed as part of their job. Usually deployments are out of the country, where most service members are leaving their family behind. With deployment, sometimes you don’t know where military personnel will be going and how long the person may be gone. The most important question is “Are they safe where they are going?” Not only does the person in the military ask these question, but the significant others such as partners and kids worry about these questions, knowing that sometimes these questions won’t have a straight answer. Not only do military personnel suffer from certain emotions and become affect from being away from their family; the family also goes through the same storm. Some are under the assumption that because the family back at home have the benefits provide by the military, they have nothing

War creates a great amount of stress on families that go beyond the regular struggles that occur in every day family life. When a family member is deployed to a war, no one is left unaffected. Just as the soldiers themselves go into the war unaware of what effects it will cause neither does their families. War instills vulnerability throughout families as it is not certain that the enlisted family member will return home again. Robert Ross from Timothy Findley’s

The Black soldiers fought for equality throughout the ranks because they were being taken into the military at the same rate as the whit inductees. Many black soldiers would be segregated would serve primarily in non-combat units but they still served with pride. Being a part of this great military and an opportunity for them to create an identity for themselves was looked upon as progress. In military segregation, black American leaders employed a variety of strategies; they mobilized the black civilian workforce, black women’s groups, black college students, and an interracial coalition to resist this blatant inequality.

Thesis: Although the U.S. military has been a leader in desegregation and in other social matters, during World War Two fear and prejudice keep many highly qualified people from serving. This weakened every branch of the military by limiting it to a less diverse and therefore less flexible fighting force.

In my interview with Steve McHale a veteran from the Operation Iraqi Freedom talked about how powerful communication can be. He said that whenever a soldier died all their communication was cut off. When I asked McHale “What was something that impacted you during war” he answered “ A lot of things are probably the worst was when you're off and on the phone or a computer end it gets cut off because one of your brothers in the arms died. all communication outside the country Get it off until the family of the service member are notify through proper channels.” (McHale). This shows that even though they are close to the other men in their rank they still want to talk to their families. Even though they cannot see their family in person they still want to talk to them because their family give them happiness. The problem about not having good communication is that families don't know how to help you. Rat Kiley the medic from O’Brien rank. Was talking to the other men about the girls back home and he said “they’ll never understand any of this, not in a billion years.Try to tell them about it, they’ll just stare at you with those big round eyes”(O’Brien 108). When soldiers come back home people don't know how to treat them and when they tell war stories the are shocked. Nobody knows what to say to them. In conclusion being able to not communicate can affect

Long absences can very often lead to complications in marriages and in relationships with children. Soldiers can miss very important moments because of a war, such as holidays and birthdays. The parent who is not at war also has to take on all of the responsibilities for home, children, and finance while their significant other is deployed. In addition to this, the parent who is left behind often finds themselves dealing with a change in behavior from their children, which is very likely a result from their other parent’s long absence. Many returning veterans blame the complications in their lives after their life in the military on their time deployed. It may seem insignificant, but this is a big reason why military force has an impact on the everyday lives of Americans who do not even serve for a military branch.

The United States has always taken great pride in its military. Our soldiers have been the focal point of keeping our country not only safe, but the beacon of freedom for others to come to in time of need. However, the military was one of many places that weren’t welcome to African Americans in a brewing civil war. The North and South were at each others necks with the moral question: Are black people truly Americans? The bravery and perseverance of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry protesting for better wages and equal rights pushed the United States to seeing not only African American soldiers, but its citizens in a more positive light, paving the way to the Civil Rights Movement and eventual protests of the modern era.

If we expand solutions to develop the circumstances for the biggest minority group in the Army (blacks), those solutions will furthermore profit other minorities, including the second biggest minority group, Hispanics. Furthermore, stress is placed upon the combat branches for the reason that they provide the principal channel to the senior ranks of the Army. Nevertheless, it is imperative to identify that Congress limits service in the combat arms to men; all women including black women are not allowed to be a part of these branches. As a result, women at present cannot way in this channel. If Congress abolishes the gender constraint on combat arms

In conclusion, although the force is diverse, it is not an exact replica of society as a whole. The military quality of life is more eye-catching for some members of society than to others. The percentage of African Americans continues to exceed population representation of the civilian labor force although there are less African Americans enlisting than years before. Hispanics are underrepresented in the military, but their percentages have increased over the years as it has in society. Minorities comprise proportionally less of the officer corps. The minorities in the active and reserve Army Forces representation levels are in line with the statistics among the pool of college graduates from which the second lieutenants and ensigns are drawn. Women continue to be underrepresented in the military in comparison to society although statistics show that women have generally continued to gain in both numerical and proportional

Race continue to be an issue in the United States even in the military. The way people were raised, also affects the judgement and how the person will react in any racial situation. The glass ceiling continues to be an issue in this days because it affects women and all minority groups. For example, in my squadron, if leadership does not look at you as a future leader because the way you speak or accent and because you are outspoken, it can affect you to get promoted. This year was my last chance to get promoted and I got over looked even though I have an Associate’s degree and 4 classes away from my Bachelor’s degree which the other members did not had. One person that got promoted got coin from the Command Chief just because he attend to

When the government send its military into an area to obtain something for white Americans and that area is already preoccupied by Indians, there will be a problem. Conflicts that arose between native Americans and the military seemed to stem from greed. Land that the Indians were on that white Americans wanted or there is gold there and the white Americans want that too. Greed and major differences philosophically.

War has tremendous effects on the human mind and impacts all parties involved. Remnants of war can dramatically affect relationships with loved ones and create greater problems ranging from financial problems to psychological damage that has more profound effects on the family infrastructure and its operation. The notion of war produces pressures and strains on the family that is not experienced everyday in the routine family life. Family member who experience PTSD from their service in the military also places unforeseen weights and consequences for the family to carry. There are specific effects distinct to a parent, a spouse, and children when a loved one is serving their country. The relationships between a service men and these family members are transformed with the absence and their reintegration.

Last month, defense chief Ash Carter said the US military is considering a plan that would allow transgender people to serve openly in the armed forces. This means “without adverse impact” such as discrimination.

The United States military is often described as a melting pot. That mixture of race, religion, culture and age carries strength along with it, strength that could not be achieved by any one alone. Defined by Rue and Byars diversity in the workforce is “including people of different genders, races, religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, age groups and physical abilities.” (Rue and Byars, pg) Management is described as the ability to allocate resources to achieve the company’s objective and mission. One of the most important resources in any organization is the employees, the members who make up the organization. A strong sense of diversity within the ranks is a force multiplier when implementing missions. The military has grown with the changing times in our country; from civil rights to women’s rights and war on terror. A well-known example of utilizing diversity in the military occurred during WWII when the Marine Corps and Army used Navajo Indians as code talkers in the Pacific Theater. A group of 24 men maintained a secure line of communication for the forces. “By recognizing and utilizing something unique within the fabric of Americana, the military identified a means to transmit secret messages in a code our enemies could never break.”(Marin, 2009) Military organizations such as 9th Communications takes great strides to ensure diversity is present. Diversity is found in low ranks, as well as extending to the high ranked