Using data from the Citizenship & Service: 2004 Survey of Army Personnel, a probability sample of active duty soldiers and officers, this study examines key questions concerning success in the military for racial and ethnic minorities. It focuses on the degree to which Hispanics are integrated into the Army and compares the experiences of Hispanics to the experiences of whites and blacks. After assessing why Hispanics join the Army and choose their occupational specialties, the study looks at how Hispanics perceive Army life, their personal experiences with discrimination, and the progress of the Army in the area of racial and ethnic integration. By comparing the attitudes of Hispanics to those of whites and blacks, it explores the degree to which race and ethnicity influence life in the Army and the implication of this for the military's future.
In this article, we primarily use the term Hispanic as opposed to Latino. Hispanic is the term used by the Army, and we refer to the Army classifications in greater detail in some of the analysis. For a more nuanced discussion of the meaning of the various labels used to describe this population see John A. Garcia, Latino Politics in America: Community, Culture, and Interests (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003). Soldiers in this article refers to all members of the Army, unless we are distinguishing officers from other soldiers. When distinguishing among ranks, we use the term officers versus enlisted soldiers. In referring to African Americans, we generally use the simpler term black.
2.
U.S. Department of Defense, Population Representation in the Military Services, Fiscal Years 2002-2005 (Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, 2004-2007).
3.
Jeffrey Passel and Michael Fix , "The Contours of the Latino Market" (paper, Latinos: Past Influence, Future Power conference , Newport Beach, CA, January 31, 2004 ).
4.
In terms of raw numbers, the Hispanic population in the Army went from approximately 31,000 in 1991 to 50,000 in 2004. This increase took place during a time when the size of the Army overall was substantially reduced.
5.
In 2004 only 1 percent of enlisted soldiers did not hold a high school degree or equivalent. 6.5 percent held a GED while the remainder held a high school or higher degree. Only 1.4 percent of officers held less than a bachelor's degree. Betty Maxfield, Army Profile FY04 (Headquarters, Department of the Army).
6.
According to the Defense Department, the percentage of new recruits who were black dropped from 20 percent in 2001 to 13 percent in 2006. However, not all of the decline can be attributed to the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq as the proportion of blacks in the Army had been in decline for several years prior to 2001. Sarah Abbruzzese, "Iraq War Brings Drop in Black Enlistees," New York Times, August 22, 2007. Also see David R. Segal and Mady Wechsler Segal, "America's Military Population," Population Bulletin 59, no. 4 (2004): 1-40.
7.
Enlisted soldiers made up 84 percent of the Army in 2004, while the officer ranks made up the remaining 16 percent (this includes warrant officers). About 11 percent of enlisted soldiers and 5 percent of officers were Hispanic. About 10 percent of the overall population (officers and enlisted) was Hispanic. For further explanation of the warrant officer ranks, see http://usawocc.army.mil/whatiswo.htm. As of 2006, the Army was up to 502,790 active-duty personnel. The reported racial/ethnic breakdown of the force in 2006 was 61.6 percent white, 20.7 percent black, 10.6 percent Hispanic, 3.7 percent Asian, and 3.4 percent other. John Bretschneider, "A Look at Today's Army," AUSA Special Report, Army Times, October 15, 2007, 8.
8.
Data are from the Defense Manpower Data Center. From the analysis of the Citizenship & Service Survey data (described in more detail later in the article), this "other Hispanic" category includes a large number of soldiers who could be classified as Mexican or Puerto Rican.
9.
Because Hispanic was not recognized as a distinct racial or ethnic category at the time most Generals entered into the Army, many spent most of their careers as some other classification. There may be other Generals in the ranks who could be classified as Hispanic but have not opted to do so.
10.
As of 2004 the overall breakdown of the enlisted ranks was 56.6 percent white, 11.1 percent Hispanic, 25.6 percent black, and 6.8 percent other. The overall breakdown of the officer corps, including warrant officers, was 75.1 percent white, 5.0 percent Hispanic, 12.9 percent black, and 7.0 percent other.
11.
This assumes that (1) the proportion of Hispanics aged eighteen to twenty-four continues to grow at the projected rate and (2) Hispanics join the Army in proportion to their composition of the general population (which may be more likely than what we see currently given the expected increase in second-generation Hispanics, who have the requisite education and English language skills to enlist in the Army).
12.
For a detailed discussion of propensity and other factors related to enlistment, see Beth J. Asch, Christopher Buck, Jacob Alex Klerman, Meredith Kleykamp, and David S. Loughran, What Factors Affect the Military Enlistment of Hispanic Youth? A Look at Enlistment Qualifications, Documented Briefing (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, National Defense Research Institute, 2005).
13.
In addition to the analysis of Passel and Fix, see Carl Haub, Hispanics Account for Almost One-Half of U.S. Population Growth ( Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau, 2006).
14.
Citing a host of psychological and sociological studies, George Lawrence and Thomas Kane highlighted how military service might provide "increased interpersonal and interracial contact under egalitarian conditions"-ideal conditions for improving race relations. George H. Lawrence and Thomas D. Kane, "Military Veterans and Racial Attitudes of White Veterans," Armed Forces & Society 22, no. 2 (1996): 235.
15.
David R.Segal, Recruiting for Uncle Sam: Citizenship and Military Manpower Policy (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1989), 110.
16.
Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, All That We Can Be: Black Leadership and Racial Integration the Army Way (New York: Basic Books, 1996), 8.
17.
The Report of the President's Commission on an All-Volunteer Force (New York: Macmillan, 1970). For statistics on enlisted composition, see Morris Janowitz and Charles Moskos, "Racial Composition in the All-Volunteer Force," Armed Forces & Society 1, no. 1 (1974): 109; and Janowitz and Moskos, "Five Years of the All-Volunteer Force: 1973-1978," Armed Forces & Society 5, no. 2 (1979): 171.
18.
For an extensive discussion of the various factors that influenced recruitment in the all-volunteer force, see Bernard Rostker, I WANT YOU! The Evolution of the All-Volunteer Force (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2006).
19.
Martin Binkin and Mark Eitelberg, with Alvin Schexnider and Marvin Smith, Blacks and the Military (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1982).
20.
After the initial phase of ground combat in Iraq in 2003, researchers found that while Hispanics made up only 9 percent of all of the armed forces, Hispanics made up 16 percent of all U.S. casualties in the initial phase of the war. The proportion of Hispanic casualties declined to 10 percent during the occupation phase of the war. Brian Gifford, "Combat Casualties and Race: What Can We Learn From the 2003-2004 Iraq Conflict?" Armed Forces & Society 31 (2005): 201-25. Also see Morten Ender, Todd Woodruff, and Remi Hajjar, "Social Inequality and U.S. Death in Iraq: The Class-Bias Thesis Revisited" (paper, annual meeting of the North Central Sociological Association, Pittsburgh, PA, April 2007).
21.
The phrase poverty draft is from Beth Quinn, "Hispanic Kids in the Army's Crosshairs," Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY), January 3, 2005). Also see Deborah Davis, "Illegal Immigrants: Uncle Sam Wants You," In These Times (Chicago), July 25, 2007.
22.
In looking at youth survey data from 2002, Mark Adamshik found no correlation between race and propensity to join the military when controlling for other socioeconomic factors. Adamshik, "Social Representation in the U.S. Military Services," Circle Working Paper 32 (Medford, MA: Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, 2005).
23.
Concern over this trend led to the creation of the Commission on Officer Diversity and Advancement, tasked to specifically investigate the challenges facing black officers. The commission also began to address issues related to enlisted personnel and other minority groups, including Hispanics. The commission's primary recommendation, which the Army adopted, was to stand up a "Diversity Office" with the mission to "Serve as the integrator at HQDA for all workforce diversity matters (develop and coordinate policy, plans and programs that leverage our diversity in support of the Army mission)." U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Army Diversity, http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/ado.asp (accessed October 12, 2007). Also see Anthony D. Reyes, Strategic Options for Managing Diversity in the U.S. Army, Military Fellow Research Report (Washington, DC: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 2006).
24.
John Faris, "The All-Volunteer Force: Recruitment from Military Families," Armed Forces & Society 7 (1981): 545-59.
25.
Moskos and Butler, All That We Can Be, 50.
26.
Colin Powell and Joseph Persico, My American Journey ( New York: Random House, 1995), 161.
27.
Carrie W.Kendrick, African American Officers' Role in the Future Army, Strategy Research Project (Carlisle Barracks, PA: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 1998).
28.
Reyes, Strategic Options for Managing Diversity, 9.
29.
Former Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, interview by Robert Montemayor, May 2004. Personal discussion with MG (Ret.) Alfred Valenzuela , January 2004.
30.
Caldera described this dynamic as especially acute among those selected as aides to Generals, a key position for those seeking to move up the ranks.
31.
Despite Powell's success in the Army, research on public opinion toward Powell suggests that he did not heal or improve race relations so much as he "transcended" them. See Donald Kinder and Corrine McConnaughy, "Military Triumph, Racial Transcendence, and Colin Powell," Public Opinion Quarterly 70, no. 2 (2006): 139-65.
32.
Defense Equal Opportunity Council Task Force on Discrimination and Sexual Harassment, Report of the Task Force on Discrimination and Sexual Harassment, Vol. 1 (Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 1995).
33.
Moskos and Butler, All That We Can Be, 60.
34.
Ibid., 139.
35.
This number includes eleven respondents who classified themselves as simply Hispanic. While not ascertainable from the data, these are most likely respondents of Latin American heritage. Of the respondents, 40 out of the 122 in this category indicated that they had been born outside of the United States, compared to only 12 of the 135 respondents of Mexican heritage.
36.
See Tables 1-1 through 1-3, Appendix B in Headquarters, Department of the Army, Department of the Army Affirmative Action Plan (Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1999).
37.
Soldiers of Arabic or Middle Eastern descent typically fall under the white classification. Interestingly, there was a small but significant uptick in the proportion of noncitizen whites in the Army after the signing of Executive Order 13269, which expedited residency requirements for soldiers seeking citizenship. Most observers attribute this increase to an influx of soldiers of Middle Eastern heritage.
38.
For a more in-depth discussion of the tendency of Hispanics to equate "whiteness" with success, see Sonya Tafoya, Shades of Belonging (Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, 2004). Also see Sonya Tafoya, Hans Johnson, and Laura Hill, Who Chooses to Choose Two? (New York: Russell Sage and Population Reference Bureau, 2004).
39.
Using this algorithm, the number of respondents in each racial/ethnic category is n = 420 (white), n = 397 (Hispanic), n = 293 (black), and n = 78 (other).
40.
On July 3, 2002, President George Bush signed Executive Order 13269, which was designed to ease the naturalization requirements for citizenship for those serving in the armed forces. The primary implication of this executive order was that "non-citizens on active duty could apply for citizenship with no further residency requirements." While there was a significant increase in the number of noncitizen Hispanics in the Army between 2002 and 2003, presumably as a result of the executive order, the number of Hispanic noncitizens in the Army has since declined. Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 130 (July 8, 2002): 45287.
41.
Data are from the Defense Manpower Data Center, 2004. These are estimates as there were some coding errors in the databases available during this timeframe. According to the Center for Naval Analyses Corporation, there were 5,596 noncitizens in the Army in 2003. Working from the trend of 35 percent of noncitizen accessions being Hispanic, about 4 percent of the Army's Hispanic population would be noncitizens. While there was a significant increase in the number of noncitizen Hispanics in the Army between 2002 and 2003, presumably as a result of the Executive Order, the number of Hispanic noncitizens in the Army has since declined. The proportion of Hispanic soldiers in 2004 who were not citizens was actually slightly below the average for the past fourteen years. Between 1991 and 2004 the proportion of Hispanic soldiers who were noncitizens averaged 7 percent, and Hispanics made up, on average, only 33 percent of the Army's noncitizen enlisted soldiers. (These are estimates from Defense Manpower Data Center data. They generally track the Center for Naval Analyses Corporation report.) Anita Hattiangadi, Aline Quester, Gary Lee, Diana Lien, and Ian MacLeod, with David Reese and Robert Shuford, Non-Citizens in Today's Military: Final Report (Alexandria, VA: Center for Naval Analyses Corporation, 2005).
42.
About 14 percent of enlisted Hispanics are non-Puerto Rican foreign born, compared to about 9 percent of Hispanic officers. Only 11 percent of enlisted Hispanics are Puerto Rican, compared to 22 percent of Hispanic officers.
43.
We control for immigration status in this study through the use of dichotomous variables that capture the four primary categories by which we have defined immigration status: foreign born (not including the children of U.S. citizens), those born in the U.S. territories (primarily Puerto Rico), those born in the United States to at least one parent who was born outside of the United States, and those born in the United States to native parents. Fifty-seven survey respondents were born in a U.S. territory, fifty-six of whom were born in Puerto Rico.
44.
This number could be higher than data from the C&S Survey suggests, as difficulty with English would be a significant impediment to completing the survey. In our analysis, we split the sample between those who reported that they were completely fluent in English and those who reported being less than completely fluent.
45.
Another interesting aspect is the Army's recruitment policy as it relates to high school graduation. For the most part, the services seek to limit entry to those with high school diplomas. However, during Louis Caldera's tenure as Secretary of the Army, he noticed that Hispanics with GEDs performed just as well and had higher retention rates than did white soldiers with high school diplomas. This led to a reevaluation of entry criteria. It also led to an extensive campaign, Operation Graduation, to promote high school graduation among all youth. Montemayor, interview with Caldera, May 2004. Also see U.S. Department of Defense, Army, Ad Council Announce Operation Graduation, Department of Defense News Release No. 573-00 (Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), September 19, 2000).
46.
The Army promotion system encourages obtaining additional education, and soldiers and officers are provided opportunities to achieve advanced schooling at various points in their careers, so lower ranking soldiers are likely to have less education, regardless of race. For that reason, comparisons were made only between peer groups.
47.
Much could be written about the fact that black women have carved out such a niche for themselves in the Army. Within the enlisted ranks, 43 percent of females are black women, who also make up 61 percent of women in the senior enlisted ranks.
48.
The high proportion of blacks with a family history of service is likely driven in part by the high proportion of women among minorities in the Army. Women in the Army tend to marry other service members at a much higher rate than do males. In 2006, 5.0 percent of men in the Army who were married were married to other service members. The rate among women was 37.3 percent. Bretschneider, "A Look at Today's Army," 8.
49.
The question on the C&S Survey read, "Listed below are some reasons why persons join the Army. For Questions 9, 10 and 11 below, please select the three reasons which most influenced you to join the Army. . . . 9. Fill in the item number of the FIRST most important reason for joining." Respondents were able to choose from nineteen offered reasons or were able to write in their own reason.
50.
The dependent variable was a dichotomous variable that separated everyone who had chosen "desire to serve my country" as their first choice from everyone else. In all, 292 respondents reported this as their primary reason for joining the Army. Being male increased the odds of reporting this as the number one reason for joining, while being black or having an advanced degree (in comparison to a bachelor's degree) both corresponded with lower odds of a respondent saying that "desire to serve my country" was his or her number one reason for joining.
51.
Being male corresponded with increased odds of giving this as the reason for joining the Army among enlisted soldiers as well.
52.
This number is separate from the fifty-six respondents who reported being born in Puerto Rico.
53.
Combat Arms as defined here includes the branches of Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery, Aviation, Special Forces, and Air Defense Artillery.
54.
Respondents' reasons for joining were broken down into four general categories that were used as dichotomous variables in regression on occupational specialty. The four categories were service and adventure, education and training, job benefits, and tradition and family.
55.
The C&S Survey specifically asked, "During your Army service, have you had anyone you would describe as a mentor (that is, a senior ranking person who regularly assisted you and gave you advice on your career)?"
56.
Within the enlisted ranks, being from Puerto Rico or being from immigrant parents does correspond with an increased likelihood of having had a mentor.
57.
Multivariate analysis revealed no significant difference in the propensity of white, black, and Hispanic officers to report having had a mentor.
58.
Following the basic question on mentorship, respondents were asked, "If you had a mentor, was he or she of the same racial or ethnic group as you?"
59.
Respondents were asked, "Do you agree or disagree with the following? . . . I am confident I will be promoted as high as my ability and interest warrant if I stay in the Army." Respondents were then given five options from strongly agree to strongly disagree. For modeling purposes, this was treated as a linear dependent variable.
60.
Respondents were asked, "Do you agree or disagree with the following? . . . I believe that the Army leadership will make the best decisions to maintain a quality Army." Respondents were then given five options from strongly agree to strongly disagree. This was also treated as a linear dependent variable.
61.
The specific question was, "Generally, do you think there is more or less racial and ethnic discrimination in the military as in civilian society at large?" Respondents could then choose from the following options: "1. More racial and ethnic discrimination in the military. 2. About the same. 3. Less racial and ethnic discrimination in the military. 4. Don't know/no opinion." For the regression analysis, respondents who answered "don't know/no opinion" were put in the same category as "about the same." The resulting variable was modeled as a linear dependent variable.
62.
These numbers reflect negligible improvement over perceptions of race relations in the Army in 1974. Dale Brown and Peter Nordlie found that 41 percent of whites and 37 percent of blacks agreed with the statement "Race problems in the Army are not as bad as they are in the rest of society." David R. Segal, "From Political to Industrial Citizenship," in The Political Education of Soldiers, ed. Morris Janowitz and Stephen Wesbrook (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1983), 285-306.
63.
Soldiers were asked, "Have you personally experienced discrimination in the civilian world because of your race and ethnicity?" and "Have you personally experienced discrimination in your current unit because of your race or ethnicity?" Responses to these questions were modeled as dichotomous yes-no variables.
64.
There is also the strong possibility that some of this is because of a recall effect, whereby those who have been in the Army longer (are of higher rank) are likely to report an incident that happened to them previously, even if it was not in their current unit.
65.
The question asked, "At your current rank, how fair are the selections for . . . promotion?" Respondents were then able to choose from six options, ranging from very unfair to very fair and also including not applicable at my rank. For modeling purposes, respondents who chose not applicable at my rank were dropped from the analysis.
66.
Interestingly, foreign-born respondents were more likely to view their chances of success positively than were those born in the United States.
67.
The question asked, "Thinking about the last time you were considered for promotion, do you think your race or ethnicity helped or hurt you in the promotion process?" Respondents were then able to choose from "1. My race or ethnicity helped. 2. No effect. 3. My race or ethnicity hurt. 4. Don't know/no opinion." For modeling purposes, responses to this question were recoded to form a dichotomous variable separating those who chose "my race or ethnicity hurt" from everyone else.
68.
Part of the difference between officer and enlisted perceptions of promotions is likely because of the different promotion systems used. Noncommissioned officer (NCO) promotions are driven heavily by educational achievement and shortages within specific specialties. This means that a soldier who is in a critical specialty and has a good education or the opportunity to continue his or her education will rise rapidly through the junior ranks. Another relevant factor is the fact that promotion boards for lower enlisted ranks are handled locally while senior NCO promotions and officer promotions are handled centrally by the Army.
69.
Moskos and Butler, All That We Can Be, 139.
70.
For further discussion of how Hispanics fill the nepantla, or space, between whites and blacks in America see Gaston Espinosa, Elizondo Virgilio, and Jesse Miranda, "Hispanic Churches in American Public Life: Summary of Findings," Interim Reports, Vol. 2 (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame: Institute for Latino Studies, 2003), 22-24. Also see Rachel Swarns, "Hispanics Debate Census Plan to Change Racial Grouping," New York Times, October, 24, 2004.
71.
This finding also has implications for the attitudes of veterans toward other racial and ethnic groups. Linda Tropp and Thomas Pettigrew have found that when minority groups perceive prejudice from majority groups in an intergroup contact environment they are less likely to have positive contact outcomes and may even have more negative intergroup attitudes after the experience. Linda R. Tropp and Thomas F. Pettigrew, "Relationships Between Intergroup Contact and Prejudice Among Minority and Majority Status Groups," Psychological Science 16, no. 12 (2005): 951-57.
72.
The U.S. military played a key, and very visible, role in the landmark University of Michigan case on the use of racial preferences in college admissions. Consolidated Brief of LT. GEN Julius W. Becton, ADM. Dennis Blair, MAJ. GEN Charles Bolden, HON. James Cannon, LT. GEN Daniel Christman, GEN Wesley Clark, SEN Max Cleland, ADM. Archie Clemens, HON. William Cohen, ADM. William Crowe, GEN Ronald Fogelman, LT. GEN Howard Graves, GEN Joseph Hoar, SEN Robert Kerrey ET AL As Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents (Washington, DC: U.S. Supreme Court), 1-40.
73.
Totals calculated from tables 3.4, 4.5 B.24, and B.42 in U.S. Department of Defense, Population Representation in the Military Services (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Defense, 2004).
74.
David L. Leal, "The Multicultural Military: Military Service and the Acculturation of Latinos and Anglos," Armed Forces & Society 29, no. 2 (2003): 205-26. Also see Leal, "It's Not Just a Job: Military Service and Latino Political Participation," Political Behavior 21, no. 2 (1999): 153-74.
75.
One of the more interesting research areas that these data may help inform relates to differing perceptions of intergroup contact between members of minority and majority groups. Preexisting attitudes and perceptions appear to shape the outcome of intergroup contacts in different ways for the two groups. For an overview, see Thomas F. Pettigrew and Linda R. Tropp, "Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes: A Meta-Analytic Test of Intergroup Contact Theory," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, no. 5 (2006): 751-83.
