Military Leadership Diversity Commission report
The Military Leadership Diversity Commission delivered it’s report to Congress and there’s nothing surprising about it. The leadership of the military isn’t diverse. For some reason, since higher echelon leaders should know something about the way in which war is fought, you know, hands on experience, too many white men are in those higher echelons. From UPI;
The Military Leadership Diversity Commission said the Defense Department should end policies excluding women, and other “barriers and inconsistencies, to create a level playing field” so women get the credit they deserve.
The recommendation was one of 20 made by the commission, led by retired Air Force Gen. Lester L. Lyles and established in 2009 by the National Defense Authorization Act.
“We know that (the exclusion) hinders women from promotion,” Lyles said in an interview published by American Forces Press Service. “We want to take away all the hindrances and cultural biases.
Ya know, if my experience was in the Air Force, I might think the same thing. You may infer whatever you want from that statement. My experience, however, was as a combat infantryman (with the exception of a few years training cadets and a year as the Fort Drum G1 NCOIC) and I don’t find it quite so easy to wave away the current restrictions on women in combat – just for the sake of having women in combat. Think it’s not that simplistic? How about this statement from MSNBC;
One barrier that keeps women from the highest ranks is their inability to serve in combat units. Promotion and job opportunities have favored those with battlefield leadership credentials.
In an occupation that occurs on the battlefield, battlefield leadership credentials are essential. Would a company hire me to lead their quantum physics laboratory if I didn’t have the practical experience? Now, if I was the janitor in the quantum physics lab, why would that same company let me work in the lab just so I could get some practical experience so I could lead the lab?
I’ve known and worked with wonderful female NCOs, cadets and officers. All very proficient at their jobs, physically fit, excellent leaders and trainers. A very small number of them, however, would have made good infantrymen. Ya know what? There is probably a small percentage of infantrymen who can’t be good infantrymen, too. But if it’s one, it’s one too many.
From Canadian Press;
Seventy-seven per cent of senior officers in the active-duty military are white, while only 8 per cent are black, 5 per cent are Hispanic and 16 per cent are women, the report by an independent panel said, quoting data from September 2008.
Um, it’s a volunteer force. People volunteer to get out as well as stay in. If you think that the leadership is holding back minorities because of their particular levels of melanin, you haven’t been in the military…even for a day. There is no institutional racism in the military. Not like the racism I’ve seen out here in real world. If they had a valid point, they would have included the diversity breakdown of the 2008 year group of 0-1s (lieutenants).
They could have just left the word “Leadership” out of the name of the Commission. It’s all about bowing down to the diversity gods and it has nothing to do with leadership. Do you want the doctor that operates on your child to be the diversity choice of his med school class? Do you want the commander who takes your child into combat to be the diversity promotion of his year group?
Thanks to Jerry920 for one of those links above and getting my blood pressure jacked.
Category: Military issues
When I see a company that was magically made better by shoehorning diversity into its upper levels, I’ll be less caustic.
Please, for the love of God and all that’s holy, tell me that they weren’t giggling their asses off when they delivered this report.
Wanna know why there are so few female Admirals and Generals, Mr. JSTRM Civilian? How many people (not just women, minorities, whatever–PEOPLE) hang around the military for the 25 or so years, accumulate the requisite command experience without stepping on their cranks (or tits) AND are successful enough in those jobs to warrant promotion to flag rank?
Now ask yourself, why aren’t there more women and minorities who are in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies? That might be a more appropriate question. And no breaking shit and killing of bad guys required for those jobs, either.
We have a “Military Leadership Diversity Commission” why?
Sure lets have diversity at the cost of casualties and defeat
because “It’s the right thing to do”. They need to get their mouths off the high hard one and remember it’s about fighting and winning not coddling whiners.
I promise to care as soon as someone produces evidence that “diverse” units are more effective in combat than homogeneous units. Until then, hey, looks like a perfect candidate for those cuts in military spending we’re constantly being told need to be made.
Yeah, they can start cutting the “fat” in the DoD with the “Military Leadership Diversity Commission” budget. Matter of fact, the military can do away with the “diversity” training, in all phases. Think of the savings, and then, think of the bullshit they put out, like this eyewash.
Oh how I hate this shit…
I’d like to believe that we can just vote Obama out, put a strong conservative in his place, and that that will be the end of the “Military Leadership Diversity Commission”…
But I know better than that. Such organizations never go away.
Keep one thing in mind. The military already has an affirmative action policy that promotes people for reasons other than merit. It places incompetent boobs in positions of power. Now, the next thing we can see is that the lack of “diversity” occurred DESPITE this policy. In other words, every one of those dasterdly white males got to his current rank DESPITE institutionalized discrimination at nearly every rung in the ladder. Every time he was up for promotion, his race and sex were held against him, and yet he still got promoted because he did things like Ranger school and other frilly things that shouldn’t matter.
I can only cite my personal experience while serving in the Army (77-99) in the Infantry. In 22 years of service I only had one white 1SG, and he was a German. A real German who had emigrated to the US. I had one CSM who was white. The remainder of the senior NCO’s I had were all black. In fact I was often referred to as the cotton ball in the coal bucket, which is why when I saw a lot of the pictures of our forces in Iraq and Afghan and saw mostly white and Hispanic faces I was surprised. Well that and the usual race warlords like Jesse Jackson had one less thing to bitch about. That being minorities bearing the brunt of the casualties. You have noticed that there hasn’t been that sort of screaming haven’t you?
Diversity for the sake of diversity is not a goal and not a good method for achieving results. You must be drawn to military service just as you must to any other calling in life if you wish to rise to the top. Hell, while American Idol covertly selects a diverse group in the end the one with most appeal, notice I didn’t say talent, wins.
Life ain’t fair and death is even more unfair and any attempts by man to level the playing field in such an endeavor can only lead to ruin.
BTW I made my feelings known a few days ago when I first got wind of this report over at that place I write for once in awhile.
You know, rather frequently in the National Guard we see non-combat MOS soldiers transfer to infantry slots because there are so many infantry NCO’s, there are so many chances to get promoted. With the occasional exception to the rule (my squad leader in Iraq was a NBC guy who migrated over)most of them spend the minimum time in the infantry and then transfer back to whatever unit they came from, with a bump in rank.
There’s a reason there are more chances for promotion in the infantry, and why only the 11 series can get earn a CIB.
Will there ever be an end to this STUPIDITY!!!!??
Nothing to be surprised about. We all new what their recommendations were going to be. This is about job opportunities not combat effectiveness.
I think Bouhammer, has a breakdown of all the backgrounds of those on the commission. If I recall correctly, most officers were from irrelevent branchs, like equal opportunity(or diversity compliance backgrounds), nevermind the civilians. There might have been a single officer from combat arms.
Point is, the fix was in.
17 women senators (of 100) in the 112th Congress. 74 of 435 Representatives in the 112th Congress are women. That’s a grand total of 17%. According to the US Census of 2000, Women make up 50.9% of the population. Congress is SO failing at diversity!
“Do you want the doctor that operates on your child to be the diversity choice of his med school class?”
Nope, I want him to be Jewish.
What Chuck Z said
In 1991, the Army conducted a SRB. The original list was determined to have had too many non-Caucasian males, and females. The list was rejected, a new board held, resulting in a list consisting of almost all Caucasian males.
The Army lost that lawsuit.
I see DOD hasn’t figured it out yet. They wish to judge by the color of skin, by the internal plumbing, and not by the content of one’s character.
Who would want to be an Affirmative Action general or admiral?
OK, so I am a female attorney who happens to specialize in restructuring overleveraged corporations. You think if an R is elected the next CinC I can get a job reviewing and cutting the defense budget? If I had that job, I could look at each program based on whether it helps or will help us defend this country (rather than whether it provides jobs to Sen. Assholes constituents). I think I would start, however, with this sort of crap. How many millions of taxpayer’s dollars were involved in preparing this?
Of course there are more men in higher ranking positions in the military. Fewer women enter the military, and more leave for family reasons, so of course there are fewer in high ranking positions. Also, as mentioned in a post above, I know several excellent female Soldiers and Marines who left the service after determining their presence on the battlefield was dangerous to their men – not because they were not extremely well qualified, but because their men tended to do stupid things to “protect” them, whether they needed it or not.
These people are idiots. I am calling Congressman Lt. Col. West to ask for a refund!!
If the people making these complaints look at the composition of the total force, they will see that the percentages of officers are almost the same for the percentages making up the enlisted force as well. But given that the force is totally volunteer, there is absolutely nothing odd about this. I guess less blacks, hispanics, and other minorities feel the need to contribute something to their country.
The Commandant was asked why there were so many less black and minority officers a few years ago, and he flatly stated that there was one and only one set of standards for Marine Officers. Anyone who could not measure up got shitcanned, and the standards WOULD NOT BE CHANGED. PERIOD. He refused to venture a guess why whites had relatively little problem with the testing and evaluations, but that some of the minority groups did. Perhaps because nothing is given away for free. You have to earn everything you get in our little gun club.