Black Collegian Career Center

For many years, African Americans have thought of military service as a path to attaining responsible positions, acquiring equality among their peers and providing a realistic opportunity to climb the promotional ladder through productive performance. Joining to serve and to acquire those much needed GI Bill funds to pay for a college education was for many an easy choice. It was possibly the answer to their prayers for financial security for their families or simply a method to grasp their personal vision of making a difference in America by serving first in the military then seeking their destiny back home. People such as Ron Dellums (elected to Congress in 1970) and David Dinkins (former mayor of New York City) come to mind. 

Today, military service is a highly sought after profession because it leads to somewhere, in or out of the military. It's a profession that provides competitive salaries, training and education and benefits that overshadow many thought-to-be lucrative corporate packages. Those of you who doubt should contact a corporate recruiter at the next campus career fair and tell him that you want a position with a starting annual salary of between $23,500 and $25,500; four weeks paid vacation and full medical and dental benefits paid by the company. In addition, you also want to defer your student loans for six months following graduation and for the company to provide you with as much as 75 percent tuition reimbursement for the graduate courses you will be taking once you start working. Today's military entry-level officer positions offer these and more, regardless of which branch you join? 

During the nineties, minorities must come to grips with the reality that skin color can neither legally keep them out of jobs nor legally get them into jobs. This reality is true for the military also. To keep pace with corporations and industry in hiring qualified minorities, the military encourages high school students to attend Service Academies such as West Point, the Navy Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Coast Guard Academy. Also, each Service repeatedly launches recruitment programs to attract minority college students and graduates (particularly from HBCUs) to become commissioned officers. The Department of Defense's latest report to Congress in September, 1997 reflects increases in minority enrollments in the academies and in officer ranks in the military. The Marine Corps has become one of the branches most successful in its efforts to recruit, train, promote and retain females, African Americans and Hispanics as officers, as the following graph shows.  

1991             60                              54                    51 
1992             77                              53                    33 
1993             73                              50                    66 

1995           110                              93                    80 
1996           115                              80                  105 
1997           124                              89                  106

According to Eric Lindsay, Deputy Director of Officer Programs, Headquarters Marine Corps, people are joining the military for all the right reasons. From the multitude of different types of job fields, salaries, medical and dental benefits, to the additional leadership skills training each receives, they are joining. Qualifying for officer programs are basically the same for all the Services, stated Lindsay. A full-time student with a C average; in good medical and physical condition and good references as to character and work ethic will allow interested individuals to apply. A technical degree is not required in most of the job fields, nor is a specific academic major. 

The equal opportunity to advance, according to responses from surveys given to newly commissioned officers, is the most frequent reason for choosing the military today. Major Margarette C. Wallace, U.S. Air Force, and Lieutenant Pat L. Williams, U.S. Navy, can attest to that fact. Wallace's resume reflects someone who, since becoming an officer in 1978, turned a bachelor of science degree in nursing into a master of arts in health care management. Along the way she earned the respect and confidence of her superiors, which has now led her to being assigned the responsibility for developing and managing plans for the Air Force's Equal Opportunity and Treatment (EOT) Program. The guidance she provides pertains to all Air Force personnel and involves a multi-million dollar budget and 200 EOT specialists Air Force-wide. 

Lieutenant Williams' career has taken her a long way since she graduated cum laude from Mississippi State University in 1982. I saw military service as an avenue for me to further my education, get the management skills needed for when I return to the corporate arena and to travel, Williams stated. I've been fortunate to have done all these things and more. I've completed my master's degree (paid for by the Navy); have had numerous positions where I was in-charge, and have lived in Long Beach, Monterey and San Diego, Calif., as well as, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. Currently, Williams is a flag aide (senior executive assistant) to Rear Admiral Barbara McGann in Washington, D.C. 

Understanding today's opportunities in the military, whether you get there by chance or choice, must be valued against the trails that were blazed through the blood, sweat and tears of those Black pioneers who came before ... members of the Buffalo soldiers, the Golden Thirteen and the Montford Point Marines. Those African Americans once labeled colored, Negro, and Black (most were called even worse names) took daily pride in doing the right thing for themselves and their families. They didn't realize that they were on the forefront of making American military history. Regardless of circumstances, they chose to seize their chance to serve, and succeed. This was not much different from the choice a young man from Harlem made many years ago. He rose to become a four-star general, a man who experienced anxieties and missteps along the way, but who always focused on the three P's of military service - perseverance, performance and professionalism. He was an African-American military leader, General Colin L. Powell, U.S. Army, (Retired).