Affirmative Action in the Military

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Hi,

Interesting topic!

RESPONSE:

Thesis:

Although there are opponents to affirmative action, affirmative action (AA) is still needed in the military.

The potential arguments:

1. Affirmative action is about winners and losers, and the whole point of affirmative action is to redistribute the resources fairly, in universities and labor markets, away from white males, towards minorities and females. And it does that, and the data are pretty clear on that. This applies equally to the military, which still lags behind in diversity. (www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=900617&renderforprint=1)

Equal employment opportunity (EEO) is best described as a policy of simple nondiscrimination, in compliance with legislation prohibiting all forms of intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. It specifically outlaws discrimination in employment in all public and private sector organizations with 15 or more employees, as well as labor organizations and employment agencies. Affirmative action goes further by requiring employers to take steps to achieve a balanced representation of workers (http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/affirmaction.html).

2. Affirmative Action guarantees diversity, which is imperative to the military. For example, at West Point, where numeric targets by race are set at 10-12 percent black and 25 percent minority. West Point does not have to meet those targets, but the Army thinks because its rank and file exceeds 30 percent minority, a diverse officer corps is critical to military teamwork. "Race matters, gender matters, in a very diverse Army and in a world where they are going to have to operate, who knows where," said Col. Michael Jones, West Point Director of Admissions. The military still needs Affirmative Action.

3. Affirmative Actions are processes, activities, and systems designed to identify, eliminate, prevent, and work to overcome the effects of discriminatory treatment as it affects the upward mobility and quality of life for DoD personnel. This is essential to protect the minority personel in the military from discrimination e.g., rape of women taken seriously and the accused be brought to justice as opposed to slap on the wrist, etc.

Another example ...