My observation: Agency on the part of the recruit/officer candidate explains much of the variance. My observations come from company, battalion, and brigade command in combat arms and teaching at a Service Academy.
Minority officer candidates seemed to buy into the incentive that a military background or career is a leg up and they are mu…
My observation: Agency on the part of the recruit/officer candidate explains much of the variance. My observations come from company, battalion, and brigade command in combat arms and teaching at a Service Academy.
Minority officer candidates seemed to buy into the incentive that a military background or career is a leg up and they are much more attuned to "what can I do with this experience afterwards." I observed many more minority officers gravitating toward the combat support branches (signal, field and air defense artillery, engineer, etc.) and the service support/tech branches (transportation, quartermaster/logistics, finance, etc.) than combat arms. This frequently tracked with their bachelor's degree major.
Trying to force an arbitrarily "equitable" outcome in branch or operational assignments will only result in a lot of resentment within the ranks from both majority and minority officers.
"This frequently tracked with their bachelor's degree major."
Imagine that. People wanting to work in a field in which they have an interest and training. Perhaps they actually listened to their guidance counselors in school.
My observation: Agency on the part of the recruit/officer candidate explains much of the variance. My observations come from company, battalion, and brigade command in combat arms and teaching at a Service Academy.
Minority officer candidates seemed to buy into the incentive that a military background or career is a leg up and they are much more attuned to "what can I do with this experience afterwards." I observed many more minority officers gravitating toward the combat support branches (signal, field and air defense artillery, engineer, etc.) and the service support/tech branches (transportation, quartermaster/logistics, finance, etc.) than combat arms. This frequently tracked with their bachelor's degree major.
Trying to force an arbitrarily "equitable" outcome in branch or operational assignments will only result in a lot of resentment within the ranks from both majority and minority officers.
"This frequently tracked with their bachelor's degree major."
Imagine that. People wanting to work in a field in which they have an interest and training. Perhaps they actually listened to their guidance counselors in school.