Roguely Stated

Lolita C. Baldor of the Associated Press has explored an important, but under-appreciated national security issue for the Washington Post recently concerning the declining number of blacks joining the U.S. military. According to Pentagon data on both reserve and active duty forces, there was a 38 percent decline in recruitment of black Americans between 2001 and 2006. If only active forces are counted, the number of black recruits dropped from more than 31,000 in 2002 to about 23,600 in 2006, almost one-quarter fewer.

This decline should be of concern to national security leaders, but it should also stoke discussion about the relative dormancy of the US racial equality debate.

Marine Commandant Gen. James T. Conway believes the decline is indicative of the daily bloodshed in Iraq, which in turn is causing the “influencers” of young men and women in America to rethink the relative costs and benefits of joining the military. To this end, Baldor cites Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon’s director of accession policy, who agrees:

“while the economy is providing potential recruits with better opportunities, the growing dissatisfaction with the war among black political and community leaders, as well as parents and teachers, is a major factor.”

However, there is more to this story than either the military recruiters or the Pentagon policy advisers have yet been willing to acknowledge. While it is true that the American death toll in Iraq is a significant factor, casualties have not stopped friends and family members in the past from advising Americans to answer their country’s call, at least not on this scale. So what is at the core of latest phenomenon? What else might be contributing to black Americans actively seeking to dissuade their friends and family members from serving their country in the military?

Along with the usual answers regarding the direction of American foreign policy and the cyclic nature of the economy, perhaps our national leaders (as well as the current crop of presidential candidates) should look into our own not-too-distant-past, back to the civil rights coalitions of the 1940s and the Double-V Campaign for additional insight and long term solutions.

In response to the “call to duty” to serve in the Second World War, W.E.B. DuBois and the NAACP called for black Americans to join the war effort in hopes that they would be rewarded with increased civil rights upon their return. The nation’s black newspapers urged their readers to support the war against Japan and Germany while simultaneously working for racial justice at home. “Democracy: Victory at Home, Victory Abroad” became the motto.

The civil rights situation in this country today is quantitatively different than it was in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. However, the lack of socio-economic parity between major ethnic groups remains to this day; the same lack of parity that the Double-V Campaign was ultimately striving to defeat, and that later led to the freedom rides and sit-ins of the 1960s. Remember, full access to participation and re-earning the right to vote were merely means to achieve these ends – not the ends themselves.

Obstacles such as technical automation, urban decay, ghettos, poor educational opportunities and de facto school segregation are continuing challenges that plague large segments of our population. According to the US Census Bureau, one out of every four citizens who report their race as black are either at or below the poverty line. Blacks still have the lowest median household income in America. Until these issues are faced and addressed, convincing the “influencers” will be a losing battle for this very simple reason: if you don’t feel that you have anything to gain from the status quo, then it stands to reason that you probably won’t think it’s a good idea to fight and die for it either.

To put this in a historical context, in 1919 “…[D]ecorated African-American soldiers, returning home to claim the democracy for which they had risked their lives, were badly disappointed. Lynchings continued, race riots would erupt in twenty-six cities before the year ended, and secret agents from the government’s “Negro Subversion” unit routinely shadowed outspoken African-Americans.
-Savage Peace – 1919: Hope and Fear in America by Ann Hagedorn.

This is a history that may be lost on our military and political leaders, but it is not lost on many of our citizens – most notably Black Americans. The obstacles to achieving full enfranchisement in the American system stand in stark contrast to Director Gilroy’s simplistic calls to national leaders, particularly members of Congress who have served in the military, to merely talk to Black Americans about “the nobility of service.”

Changes in political leadership, foreign policy or the economy will have a short-term impact on recruitment numbers, but in order to systemically and permanently alter the conversation with the so-called influencers – black political and community leaders, parents, and teachers – we must attend to the business of what this country has always been about and strive to live up to the national ideals we profess: true equality for ALL of our citizens.

A democracy needs a military that’s not radically out of step with the values and hopes of its citizens, therefore full participation and enfranchisement of the citizenry is a prerequisite for building a military in a democracy. Having a military that is a reflection of its population is both good for the military and good for the country – a point acknowledged by Gen. Conway. Failing to do so has severe national security implications for the future.

In meeting these challenges and addressing these obstacles, we have the best chance to meet the Marine’s recruitment goals and accomplish Gen. Conway’s desire “…to make sure that we continue to look like America in the Marine Corps.”

For those who would say that military leaders can’t influence non-traditional policy issues like those mentioned above, that these issues are beyond their scope; think again. Good examples of positive influence by U.S. military leadership on policy issues range from the racial integration of the U.S. military to the recent CNA report from 11 retired U.S. generals that links global climate change with national security.

The lesson is this: when an issue (any issue) ends up linked to national security, military and political leadership can have a tremendous impact. Therefore, we must face the challenges that are the real story behind the latest recruitment numbers.

Our national security may very well depend on it.

MORE:
The ‘Savage Peace’ of 1919, Relevant Today – National Public Radio Interview

UPDATE: 8/22/07 – New York Times