Minorities

Having more minority candidates is a reflection of our changing society. Whether is a deliberate focus or not, you’re going to have more minority candidates
 
The unspoken question is having diversity deliberate or just a reflection of a changing society. I tend to be in favor of diversity in the college process in general, especially socio-economic. I'm not sure how or if the SAs evaluate socio-economic issues, traditional colleges do somewhat. I feel the military is a unique institution and it should reflect society.

What makes this issue tough is that if the increase in diversity is deliberate, from a macro level it sounds good but at a micro level it has positive impacts on some and negative for others. It's just a tough, tough issue.
 
The RAND Corporation studied this. RAND RR744 pdf

A critical question that would need to be answered to better determine this is how/where is "diversity" scored. I want our military be the best that it can be vs politically or socially correct. I may be a bit naïve or optimistic but I would like to eliminate race and gender from all applications and score candidates based on their merits while deliberately not succumbing to group think. A tough problem to solve.
 
USAFA tries really hard to bring in kids from under represented areas from across the country, regardless of minority status. There are also a lot of home schooled cadets that get appointments. There is not one gender or race that is more worthy of an appointment. The operational Air Force is diverse and it’s due to the melting pot of our country, everyone earns it these days.
 
I think like all organizations, they are trying for a more diverse group. I dont think it means that they give extra points like many civilian colleges do when evaluating an applicant but i have to imagine they have an incentive in creating a more diverse student body. For example, the AF is giving out scholarhships to high school kids so that they can go to a camp where they are taught to fly and gain their pilot license. In their literature their goal is to have minority kids become part of the aviation industry both civilian and military
 
The RAND Corporation studied this. RAND RR744 pdf

A critical question that would need to be answered to better determine this is how/where is "diversity" scored. I want our military be the best that it can be vs politically or socially correct. I may be a bit naïve or optimistic but I would like to eliminate race and gender from all applications and score candidates based on their merits while deliberately not succumbing to group think. A tough problem to solve.

One CFA, PFT, & AFT standard?
 
Oldvaq is closest to the pin! Diversity in a military context is usually totally different from the usual ‘expected’ targets that exist in other systems...
it’s a remarkable fabric that admissions tries to weave into each class...stop anticipating a binary process...think out of the box: inner city, rural, way way rural, island, 1gen college, legacies, enlisted, and the irresistible special situations and uniqueness in life experiences..I like to think in terms of a mosaic not just the simple race based diversity... the mission is too important not to gather infinite possibilities of talent from all corners of the country!!
 
All taken directly from each academy's Class of 2022 press release. These are the leading sentences, year after year.

USAFA
The 1,170 basic cadets make up the most diverse class ever admitted to the Academy, with roughly 34 percent self-identifying as a minority.
  • --1,170 men and women were accepted into the Academy
  • -- 295 are women representing 25.2 percent of the Class of 2022
  • -- 875 are men representing 74.8 percent of the class
  • -- 119 self-identify as Hispanic and represent 10.2 percent of the class
  • -- 1,051 self-identify as not being Hispanic and represent 89.8 percent of the class
  • -- 397 self-identify as a minority and represent 33.9 percent of the class
  • -- 133 self-identify as African-American and represent 11.4 percent of the class
  • -- 15 self-identify as Native American and represent 1.3 percent of the class
  • -- 111 self-identify as Asian and represent 9.5 percent of the class
  • -- 19 self-identify as Pacific Islander and represent 1.6 percent of the class
  • -- 58 declined to respond and represent 5 percent of the class
USMA
More than 1,200 U.S. citizens and 16 international students, including 294 women, 400 minorities and 10 combat veterans will report to West Point July 2, Reception Day, to join the West Point Class of 2022. The incoming class was selected from a pool of nearly 12,300 applicants. Minority enrollment, roughly 30 percent, includes 186 African-Americans, 104 Hispanic Americans, 99 Asian-Americans and 11 Native Americans.

USNA
The Class of 2022 includes 338 women (28%) and a total of 438 minority midshipmen (36%).
 
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