Introduction
Military segregation units were abolished in 1954 by President Harry Truman. Sixty-eight years later, racial disparity persists in the United States Air Force (USFA) despite efforts by the Department of Defense diversity and equality initiatives. The main emphasis of disparity focuses on black African American members, who make up fourteen percent of the air force (Ayivorh et al., 2021). Black pilots represent only two percent of fourteen thousand active airmen (Ayivorh et al., 2021). Racism in the forces comes to light when the demonstration of Black Lives Matter has heightened. Undoubtedly, racial disparity of black African Americans in the Air Force has prevented equality in justice and opportunities.
U.S. Air Force History
The United States Air Force (USAF) was founded in 1907 as one of the military branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, focusing on air defense and space research. In 1917, an executive order increased the force’s funds, enabling the establishment of the U.S. Army Air Services (Napier, 2021). By the end of World War Ⅰ, Air Services had attained forty-five squadrons (Napier, 2021). Mitchell’s efforts to keep the Air Force as a solitary division led to the Air Corps Act of 1926, which reorganized the Air Service to the Army Air Corps under the military. The USAF has been involved in many wars and military aviation operations. The Air Force’s rapid expansion led to the merging of the Army Air Units into the Army Air Force (AAF), which was composed of over two million service officers (Napier, 2021). In 1947, the USAF became independent following the National Security Act amendment (Napier, 2021). Today, USAF entails nine essential commands of the Air Force and the United States Air Force Academy responsible for recruiting and training thousands of cadets.
History of Black Airmen in the U.S. Air Force
Black African Americans have been racially discriminated against in all military service fields since the nineteenth century. During the American Civil War, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was created to allow black soldiers to fight in the war (Ayivorh et al., 2021). Despite their victory, the squadron was suspended due to the escalation of Jim Crow laws, creating an ethnically charged perception (Ayivorh et al., 2021). However, this changed when the 332nd fighter group of black aviators paved the way for pilots and air crews (Ayivorh et al., 2021). At the end of World War Ⅱ, black soldiers represented less than one percent of the military and were allowed to serve in the air force.
In 1946, President Harry S. Truman directed the army to end segregation by giving equal treatment to every person in the armed service despite their race, color, or religion through the 9981 Executive Order. The Air Force was the first to adhere to the executive order by fully integrating African Americans in 1952 (Ayivorh et al., 2021). Adherence to the executive order did not foresee the issues of diversity that would arise in the future, and nobody was prepared to encourage a diverse environment. In 1971, black airmen went on strike when two of their kin were arrested after fighting with a white airman. Black airmen complained of disparity in justice, promotions, and assignments (Ayivorh et al., 2021). In 1993, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report about the treatment of women and minorities in the Air Force Academy (Napier, 2021). GAO cited differences in performance indicators among men, women, and minorities, the cadet women and minorities’ treatment, and the academy’s action to combat disparity and ensure the latter’s success (Napier, 2021). Despite initiatives by force to create equal avenues for its diverse service men and women, black airmen have been a target of racism.
Value of Diversity Equity and Inclusion Efforts in USAF
Attention to racial disparity mainly focuses on African Americans due to its exclusivity in demographics and contrast to their proportion in U.S. society. Their challenges have been ignored and unstated in mass media until serious measures are considered (Losey, 2022). Even though black Americans go through the normal enlisting process, their certified career developmental and encounters are distinctive and require discussion. USAF ought to refocus its efforts on mentoring airmen in different ranks to ensure they get the same opportunities in promotion, legal judgment, and leadership grades. For the USAF to succeed in decades to come in a majority-minority population, it has to consider the value of black Americans in its historical achievement and future success.
Foremost, USAF must acknowledge that the most innovative organization has a successful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) program. Diversity promotes innovation due to the all-black regiment Tuskegee Army Airfield being awarded over eight hundred medals for destroying enemy aircraft, proving their skills as aircraftmen ship (Losey, 2021). The inclusivity of different people leads to intellectual diversity of opinions, services, and ideas. Representation of all diverse groups in the upper rank reduces discrimination claims since everyone is represented in the organization’s decision. This will increase communication and trust within the ranks, and black Americans may feel safe to vent their complaints and contributions.
Black Lives Matter Initiative
Looking into the Inspector General’s review on racial disparity, we can identify and address issues affecting black Americans. Seventy-two percent of black service members are more likely to face military justice and get tried in special court-martial than their white counterparts (Losey, 2021). Most of them voiced a lack of confidence in the discipline process, with two in five black members citing a lack of trust in their chain of command in addressing racism, inequality, and biases (Losey, 2022). Three in five black members expressed that if they got into trouble, they would not receive the same discipline doubt as whites.
Young black members are twice as likely to be involuntary and administratively discharged based on misbehavior. Black members are overrepresented in Office of Special Investigation (OSI) criminal investigations, with fourteen percent of the population making twenty-three percent of OSI investigations (Napier, 2021). While some deeds have been taken to address bias in corrective justice, more training needs to be done on what causes racial disparity and how to address it (Napier, 2021). Therefore, this initiative seeks to create a committee composed of the affected population, a member of the judicial, administrative, and executive members.
The committee shall be tasked with pursuing racial demographics and giving information on organizational disciplinary action. The committee shall follow up, document, and account for any administrative action of the person commanding the disciplinary action, rank on what justification the act has been taken, and the recipient (Pawlyk, 2021). In addition, the committee shall track and record all letters of reprimand (LOR), letters of admonishment (LOA), and letters of counseling (LOC) issued by commanders and supervisors. Subsequently, organizing management and counseling sessions on racism and prejudice decisions for new staff lieutenants and staff sergeants who have been mandated to issue disciplinary action (Losey, 2022). The committee will also review decisions made by military attorneys who review LORs, LOAs, and LOCs and advise on administrative discharge without referring the case to the recipient’s first lieutenants.
To ensure success, the organization must sponsor monthly programs and events to educate and train staff lieutenants and sergeants on bias-related decisions. The training must cover handling, solving, and reporting disparity cases (Losey, 2021). Moreover, the USAF should invest in computerized infographics and databases for every administration action for reference. A vigorous review of apprehension and investigations must be scrutinized and changed. Most suspects in OSI criminal cases are apprehended with little to no evidence (Napier, 2021). For the service to improve discrimination amongst the ranks, it must focus on addressing officer mentorship. Every force member must be counseled on USAF laws and their consequences to reduce the number of disciplinary cases.
Measure of Success
USAF ought to conduct reviews after every fiscal year to survey minority service members on the justice system. The availability of a database on the judicial system will enable USAF to track and review cases dealing with black service members after a while and assess if injustice occurred (Pawlyk, 2021). Moreover, reporting and following up on administrative actions will shed light on the root cause, areas, and departments of disparity and develop sustainable policies to address the issues. The committee will ensure that black African Americans will not face injustice in minimalistic cases (Losey, 2021). This will allow the administration to deal with complex issues and create equity in their service members.
Conclusion
USAF has realized the cultural diversity that is declining representation and disparity of the minorities in their organization. Based on past inconsistent initiatives to fight racial disparity among black African Americans, the USAF needs to enact fundamental changes to correct negative partners. The Black Lives Matter Initiative makes far-fetched efforts to ensure future black service members do not face disparity in the organization’s justice system. Besides, the initiative aims at creating a positive environment for everyone with aircraftmanship to experience equal and inclusive professional development opportunities in the Air Force.
References
Ayivorh, B., Thompson, M., & Tolossa, R. (2021). Historically, the USAF has lacked measures to hold itself accountable for diversity, and equity. Air University (A.U.). Web.
Losey, S. (2021). Air Force leaders: Time to ‘wake up’ about racial disparities in service. Military.com. Web.
Losey, S. (2022). Air Force tracking discipline data to ensure fairness. Air Force Times. Web.
Napier, W. (2021). A short history of integration in the U.S. Armed Forces. Air Force Display. Web.
Pawlyk, O. (2021). Air Force will now collect demographic, and rank data on nonjudicial punishments. Military.com. Web.