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Race/Ethnicity. The percentages of minorities among
newly commissioned officers and the Active Component officer corps are shown in Table 4.5. In FY 1997, over 19 percent of entering officers were minorities--Black, Hispanic, and "Other" (e.g., Native Americans,
Asians, and Pacific Islanders)--and 15 percent of all commissioned officers on active duty were members of minority groups. The Air Force had the smallest proportion of minority officer accessions at 18 percent and the
Army had the largest proportion at 21 percent. The most populous minority group, Blacks, were represented at 9 percent of officer accessions and 8 percent of all active duty officers. Over the last few years the focus on minority representation within the officer corps has increased. Concern stems from the appearance of underrepresentation
among officers in stark contrast to the trends for the enlisted ranks. A number of factors contribute to the seeming underrepresentation of Blacks and Hispanics (though not "Other"
minorities) in the officer corps. For reasons too complicated to dissect within this report, minorities disproportionately suffer from poverty and disorderly learning environments. These risk factors
take their toll in the form of lower college enrollment and graduation rates, and, on average, lower achievement than other population groups. Although test score trends have improved for
minorities over the past two decades, large average differences compared to Whites remain. For example, the mean verbal Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores for
college-bound seniors in 1995 were 448 for Whites and 356 for Blacks; mean math scores were 498 for Whites and 388 for Blacks. In light of these and other factors (e.g., fierce labor market competition for
college-educated minorities), minority representation among officer accessions appears rather equitable when compared to the 21-35 year-old civilian population of college graduates which stands at 7 percent Black, 5
percent Hispanic, and 8 percent "Other." Blacks are proportionately represented and Hispanics and "Other" minorities are slightly underrepresented.
Table 4.5. FY 1997 Active Component Minority Officer Accessions and
Officer Corps, by Service (Percent) |
| Minority |
Army |
Navy |
Marine Corps |
Air Force |
DoD |
| ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER ACCESSIONS |
| Black |
9.9 |
7.5 |
8.9 |
7.5 |
8.5 |
| Hispanic |
4.0 |
5.6 |
5.9 |
2.1 |
4.0 |
| Other |
7.2 |
5.8 |
4.3 |
8.8 |
7.0 |
Total Minority Officer
Accessions |
21.1 |
18.9 |
19.1 |
18.4 |
19.5 |
| ACTIVE COMPONENT OFFICER CORPS |
| Black |
11.0 |
5.8 |
5.9 |
5.9 |
7.5 |
| Hispanic |
3.4 |
3.8 |
4.1 |
2.2 |
3.1 |
| Other |
4.9 |
4.1 |
2.9 |
4.5 |
4.4 |
| Total Minority Officers |
19.3 |
13.7 |
12.9 |
12.6 |
15.0 |
Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
"Other" includes Native Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders.
Also see Appendix Table B-34 (Race/Ethnicity by Service). |
Academic achievement differences factor into the divergent racial/ethnic distributions
across the commissioning sources as shown in Tables 4.6 and 4.7. In FY 1997, Hispanic officer accessions were more likely than other racial/ethnic groups to be commissioned via
one of the academies, but were less likely to have received an ROTC scholarship than other groups. "Other" racial/ethnic officer accessions were more likely than other groups
to have ROTC scholarships and direct appointments, but were the least likely to attend OCS/OTS. For the overall active component officer corps in FY 1997, Black officers
were less likely to have attended a Service academy.
Table 4.6 FY 1997 Source of Commission of Active Component Officer Accessions,
by Race/Ethnicity and Gender (Percent) |
| Source of Commission |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Other |
Male |
Female |
| Academy |
17.8 |
11.4 |
20.2 |
15.6 |
18.7 |
11.0 |
| ROTC - Scholarship |
27.9 |
27.7 |
22.2 |
32.3 |
27.1 |
31.2 |
| ROTC - No Scholarship |
10.7 |
19.6 |
14.2 |
12.5 |
12.1 |
10.2 |
| OCS/OTS |
17.1 |
18.2 |
27.1 |
11.5 |
19.1 |
9.6 |
| Direct Appointment* |
21.1 |
17.5 |
11.2 |
24.9 |
17.1 |
35.7 |
| Other** |
4.8 |
5.4 |
4.9 |
3.4 |
5.4 |
2.0 |
| Unknown |
0.6 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
| Total
|
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
* Females accessed through direct appointment are primarily health care professionals.
** Includes officers trained in one Service and accessed into another (primarily Marine Corps).
Also see Appendix
Table B-42 (Source of Commission by Service and Race/Ethnicity) and B-40 (Source of Commission by Service
and Gender). |
Table
4.7. FY 1997 Source of Commission of Active Component Officer Corps,
by Race/Ethnicity and Gender (Percent) |
| Source of Commission |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Other |
Male |
Female |
| Academy |
18.4 |
11.8 |
17.6 |
19.5 |
19.3 |
9.8 |
| ROTC Scholarship |
19.8 |
16.7 |
16.0 |
20.0 |
19.8 |
17.4 |
| ROTC - No Scholarship |
19.7 |
33.1 |
23.9 |
20.5 |
21.7 |
15.8 |
| OCS/OTS |
19.7 |
16.8 |
21.0 |
13.2 |
20.1 |
14.1 |
| Direct Appointment* |
16.9 |
16.7 |
15.8 |
22.6 |
13.4 |
39.6 |
| Other** |
5.0 |
4.6 |
5.4 |
3.5 |
5.2 |
2.9 |
| Unknown |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
| Total
|
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
* Females accessed through direct appointment are primarily health care professionals.
** Includes officers trained in one Service and accessed into another (primarily Marine Corps).
Also see Appendix
Table B-43 (Source of Commission by Service and Race/Ethnicity) and B-41 (Source of Commission by Service
and Gender). |
The DoD is actively looking into issues affecting minority officer recruitment, performance,
promotion, and retention in keeping with its track record of dedication to equal opportunity. The Services have programs designed to increase minority participation in the
officer corps. In addition to academy preparatory schools, ROTC programs have a considerable presence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and there
are Army ROTC units placed at predominantly Hispanic institutions. Furthermore, there are incentive and preparation programs aimed at boosting the presence of minorities within ROTC programs and the officer corps.
Targeted recruiting programs, together with a focus on equal opportunity once commissioning takes place, have contributed to increased representation of minorities
(especially Blacks) within the officer corps over the years (see Appendix Tables D-22, D-23, D-27, and D-28). The 8.5 percent of Blacks, for example, among officer
accessions in FY 1997 compares favorably with figures from one and two decades ago (1987: 7.0 percent; 1977: 6.7 percent).
These accession trends have been contributing to greater minority strength levels in the total officer corps. For example, Blacks comprised 4 percent of all active duty officers in FY
1977, 6 percent in FY 1987, and 8 percent by the end of this past fiscal year. The lagging long-term minority progress seen through the Active Component officer percentages,
relative to the near-term success seen among officer accessions, is mirrored in the pay grade distribution differences by minority status as shown in Table 4.8.
| Table 4.8. FY 1997 Pay Grade1
of Active Component Officers, by Service and Race/Ethnicity (Percent) |
Race/Ethnicity and
Pay Grade |
Army |
Navy |
Marine Corps |
Air Force |
DoD |
| White |
|
|
|
|
|
| O-1 through O-3 |
60.0 |
58.1 |
62.4 |
58.8 |
59.3 |
| O-4 through O-6 |
39.4 |
41.4 |
37.0 |
40.8 |
40.3 |
| O-7 through O-10 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.6 |
0.4 |
0.5 |
| Total
|
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
| Black |
|
|
|
|
|
| O-1 through O-3 |
63.0 |
73.1 |
74.6 |
60.0 |
64.9 |
| O-4 through O-6 |
36.6 |
26.7 |
25.1 |
39.8 |
34.8 |
| O-7 through O-10 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
| Total
|
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
| Hispanic |
|
|
|
|
|
| O-1 through O-3 |
70.3 |
74.3 |
81.4 |
56.7 |
69.4 |
| O-4 through O-6 |
29.6 |
25.7 |
18.5 |
43.0 |
30.5 |
| O-7 through O-10 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
| Total
|
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
| Other |
|
|
|
|
|
| O-1 through O-3 |
71.6 |
73.5 |
79.6 |
75.9 |
74.0 |
| O-4 through O-6 |
28.4 |
26.4 |
20.4 |
23.9 |
25.9 |
| O-7 through O-10 |
0.1 |
* |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
| Total
|
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Columns may not add to total due to rounding.
* Less than one-tenth of one percent.
1
Excludes those with unknown rank/pay grade.
Also see Appendix Table B-49 (Active Component Officer Corps by Pay Grade, Service, and Race/Ethnicity). |
Compared to Whites, higher percentages of minority members are found in the lower
grades (O-1 through O-3). More notable differences between Whites and minorities were found in the Marine Corps, where 62 percent of Whites held the rank of captain or lower
but 75 percent of Blacks and 81 percent of Hispanics were company grade officers. The pay grade distributions were closest in the Air Force, with approximately 1 percentage
point separating Whites and Blacks in terms of the percentage in grade O-3 and below. Factors such as increased college graduation rates and targeted recruiting programs have
provided minorities greater access to the officer corps. However, it is also important to monitor progress further along the pipeline.Go to Gender |
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