Thoughts about Affirmative Action in the military and academies

“After 21 years in the US Army, I speak with some experience; there is very little racism between soldiers. You simply cannot live, train, sleep, deploy and suffer with other soldiers and still harbor racist sentiments; unless.... those individuals attained their position/rank as the result of "institutionalized racism", e.g. racial quotas and reduced performance qualifications. I have had many subordinates, peers and leaders who have earned my respect for their conduct. That said, I will also point out that "institutionalized racism" exists when racial preference is used regarding promotions, assignments and access to schools. I was twice passed over for E7 due to "diversity quotas", once for a hispanic male and once for a black female when I was clearly, quantitatively, grossly more qualified. Additionally, as a master instructor for several years I can point out that consistently over 80% of poor performing/remedial students and failures were african american specifically (a testament to the failure of the public school system). Racial quotas foster lesser skill sets and weaker leadership and serve to demoralize the ranks and have no place in today's military.”

“The Washington Post stated, "For the academies, which educate and train future military officers, racial diversity is a crucial matter. Military leaders want to ensure, as much as possible, that officers reflect the diversity of the nation and enlisted forces." What does the WAPO know about being a military leader? Diversity is not nor should it be a criteria to selection to a service academy. We used to use a phrase which describes military service well..."There are no black, brown, white, or other ethnicities in the Naval service (Navy and Marine Corps)...there are only blue sailors and green Marines! That blind eye toward an individual sailor or marine's ethnicity is what helps to make a cohesive fighting force where we fight alongside our brothers (and now sisters) regardless of the backgrounds they came from. Once they swear the Oath and put on our nations uniform...they become part of OUR TEAM...period!!! Admission to service academies should be based solely and completely on merit. At the Naval Academy we used to call it, "the whole man (now add woman) multiple" where each candidate received points for each part of their preparation...i.e. academics, athletics, community service, work, etc.”