Demographic Trends and Personnel Policies as Determinants of the Racial Composition of the Volunteer Army

Abstract

Concerns have been raised that as the racial composition of the American labor force changes as we approach the 21st century, African-Americans may be increasingly over-represented in the army, particularly in combat units. However, labor force changes from year to year are very small, and analysis of the composition of army accessions and separations from 1973 to 1992 shows the racial composition of the force to be more sensitive to personnel management policies, as reflected in pay, educational benefits, and recruiting resources, than to changes in labor force composition. In particular, the over-representation of African-Americans in combat units is shown to have declined during the decade of the 1980s.