Can Minorities Succeed in Today's Army

Abstract

Abstract : The United States Army strives to produce an array of fully qualified Army leaders that represent its diverse nature. Developing minorities for leadership roles has been a key focus for the Army but is the Army truly providing the appropriate direction skills training education career management guidance and leadership to nurture develop and retain minority personnel to become senior leaders? Is the Army walking its talk? This paper provides the framework and basis to answer this question. It will attempt to answer whether minorities can succeed in the Army by examining the level of diversity within the senior officer ranks. It will seek conclusions about the background of entry-level minority officer-family ties social skills and mentorship opportunities-that may have influenced their rates of upward mobility showing why some make it and others do not and why Hispanic American (the nation's largest minority group) are severely under-represented. The paper will look briefly at the historical precedents for today's Army; and will address Army personnel policy reform initiatives designed to help meet its future objectives and provide an analysis of the promotion rates of senior officers. This paper drawing upon conclusions from previous studies by former senior service school students will determine if there are continuing trends or improvements. By highlighting similarities and differences in the methodology and the results of those studies it will attempt to point the way to future successful research. This paper concludes with recommendations to assist strategic leaders in nurturing developing and retaining minority officers to become successful leaders of the future Army.