Study shows 41% drop in number of black Army recruits since 2000

By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, March 4, 2005

The Army’s wartime recruiting challenge is aggravated by a sharp drop in black enlistments over the last four years, which internal Army and Defense Department polls trace to an unpopular war in Iraq and concerns among blacks with Bush administration policies.

The Army is straining to meet recruiting goals in part because the number of black volunteers has fallen 41 percent — from 23.5 percent of recruits in fiscal 2000 down steadily to 13.9 percent in the first four months of fiscal 2005.

“It’s alarming,” said Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, commanding general of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Fort Knox, Ky.

No single factor explains the drop, Rochelle said, but clearly the propensity of black youth to enlist is impacted by the war and increasingly by views of parents, teachers, coaches, clergy and other “influencers.”

“The influencers of these youth are causing them to be less inclined to listen to what good the Army could do for them in the long run,” said Rochelle, one of the Army’s most senior black officers.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=27532

The black population in the US is generally alot more skeptical of authority than the white population- and with damned good reason.

They oughta keep their unpatriotic mouths shut.

Put them in jail.

180

Note: 'influencers' not in the dictionary. Neither is 'oughta.'

I hope it drops even more.

i am glad to hear. moore illustrated this clearer than i have ever seen