Speak Out!

I just read your article in USA Weekend on Hillary Clinton. In the article you give an opinion about the ethnic makeup of the US Military that is not accurate. I know that you intend to be accurate so I have included some information for you to read to further your education in this area. "The following analysis of race is based on a com­parison of the 2003 recruit data and Census popu­lation data for ages 18 and above. The Table provides a summary of racial data, reveal­ing that enlisted recruits are similar to the popula­tion with a few sharp differences. Table 3 also includes a breakout comparison of the 2003 Army recruits, since that branch bears a larger share of danger on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, the data show that, proportionally, blacks make up 43 percent more of the Army recruits than does the general population, but this is not in place of whites, who make up 1 percent more (not less). Other racial categories, notably American Indi­ans/Alaskan Natives (53 percent) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (249 percent) are even more overrepresented. Hispanics and Asians are under represented. The demographic data on race reveal that mili­tary enlistees are not, in fact, more heavily recruited from black neighborhoods. The data also reveal that minorities serve in different proportions, but not because fewer whites are serving. In other words, there is no dispro­portionate share of minor­ities serving in the military, as claimed by edi­torials around the nation. Some minorities participate more heavily than other minorities."