Posted on 02/24/2012 9:15:25 AM PST by lex33
In nature, most seals are black, with relatively few white ones. The Navy's SEALs have exactly the opposite problem -- they're overwhelmingly white, with hardly any blacks. So they're trying to do something about it. It's a fundamental challenge in a democracy with an all-volunteer force: recruits may be drawn from all segments of society, but elite military units -- and none is more elite these days than the SEALs, following their dispatch of Osama bin Laden last May -- tend to draw from small pools of talent. For the SEALs, that includes athletic young men who are smart and good in the water. For whatever reason, that has led to an overwhelmingly white SEAL force. (PHOTOS: Navy SEALs in Action) Say the SEALs: Gaps exist in minority representation in both officer and enlisted ranks for Special Warfare operators. Diverse officers represent only ten percent of the officer pool (for example, African Americans represent less than 2% of SEAL officers). Diverse enlisted SEALs account for less than twenty percent of the total SEAL enlisted population. Naval Special Warfare is committed to fielding a force that represents the demographics of the nation it serves. This contract initiative seeks effective strategies to introduce high potential candidates from diverse backgrounds to the opportunities available in Naval Special Warfare. (PHOTOS: A History of Special Ops) The SEALs are considering hiring help to attract thousands of "minority males in the 16–24 year-old target age range" to become SEALs. "This contract will create a mechanism to enhance Naval Special Warfare's ability to conduct outreach, raise awareness, mentor, and increase self-selection to a career as a SEAL within minority communities," a recently-posted draft contract solicitation says. The Navy isn't seeking only black SEALs: "Challenges for minority recruitment also exist in the Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander (API), Native
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I think part of the attraction of being a SEAL, Green Beret, Ranger, etc. is the ancient impulse to join and contribute a ‘tribe’ that’s tougher than any other. These guys have no problem with the anonymity of it all because the only acceptance that they seek is from another Team member. Affirmative Action is aimed right at the heart of what makes Special Operations units tick — unit identification.
I knew someone would post this!
Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone. - Ayn Rand
How about women SEALs?
Takes a special kind of bravery to crew a bomber loaded with gas & high explosives, straight & level on a target so that every AAA gun in the area knows where you are, and where you are going. Must have been like “going over the top” in WW1. Even if you survive your mission, your chances of completing your tour were exceedingly small.
Thank you for posting this. I’ve emailed copies to a number of folks.
Most people don't understand what that means, really.
During BUDS several candidates often pass out holding their breath underwater. It takes shear will power to overcome the affects of oxygen deprivation while underwater, most importantly, fear affect of death by drowning.
There is absolutely nothing preventing any QUALIFIED black sailor from applying for SEAL training. Perhaps the disparity is due to lack of applications by blacks. Inviting applications is a good thing. Changing QUALIFYING STANDARDS is not!
I always thought it was a muscle/fat/bone ratio thing, until I saw a few fat black individuals who had trouble staying afloat.
Ha!! Remember Smokin’ Joe Fraizer in the pool? Can’t remember what the name of the TV show was, (around ‘73 or so), but it pitted athletes from different sports going up against each other in various sports. Joe and the pool did not make a good fight.
Amen. It could probably be diagnosed clinically. They only care about what their immediate peers think of them; the important people. I think it should be diagnosed as an honor condition. Honor is a disease our nation is slowly stamping out among the general populous.
Smart kid; God bless and protect him.
Actually, it's not.
I knew many 'white' people who claimed they could not swim. That they would sink like a rock.
Since I swim like a fish, this seemed weird to me. I know for a fact how hard it is to sink to the bottom and stay there. One must wear weights to do so (or just let all the air out of your lungs).
I was trying to teach a friend how to swim and he said his 'skeleton' was heavier. So... I grabbed a 1-gallon can filled with concrete that we used as an anchor and jumped in. I swam around with it , showed him it made no difference.
Then I watched him try to swim, and I figured out what he was doing wrong.
Those who claim "they can't swim" are trying to keep the water at CHEST LEVEL. This is impossible. They fight it until their arms tire and then they start slipping under.
I taught him that he must accept that the water level will be at his CHIN. A simple tilt of the head keeps the mouth out of the water. One cannot 'float' any higher than CHIN LEVEL without extreme exertion.
I agree that most 'blacks' cannot swim, but it is because most of them never try, or were never taught properly, or never grew up in an environment where they learned naturally. There were not that many swimming pools in the inner cities of our nations. Sometimes I think it is a mental limitation (artificially imposed) that comes from watching TV and seeing only TARZAN in the water, and never the natives. (Besides the fact that the waters in African nations were full of gators).
At any rate, there is no physical reason that those who claim they can't swim (black or white or green or red or blue) cannot actually learn to swim.
It has absolutely nothing to do with body size, body density, physical build, or race.
“”Blacks, as a group, just aren’t into swimming...and to be a SEAL..ya gotta LOVE the ocean””
Well one would think that we would see a lot more hispanic’s in the SEAL’s. They are great swimmers.
Q: Did you hear about Reagan's new antipoverty program?
A: 50,000 teams in the NBA next season..
The new navy seal program is going to look a lot like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvOo-wtEPPk
“D.... F.... “
Except they have written more books and done more TV interviews than anybody else.
You get an A for racism. Your momma should be proud.
By the way “Duke level” Black men is a few hundred per year.
A person good enough to be a seal is not in prison. They are winners. And - they might just be winning - someplace else. Was the point.
If the usual demographic/intelligence data holds - there should be approx half as many Black seals as in regular population. So - if population = 13% - I would expect 5-6%. But - at that point - every head starts to count.
If swimming filters out a few more, and other opportunities filter out some more - start to get some really low numbers for easily explained reasons.
The blacks I knew in the active Army were all smart, and viewed the Army as a career to get away from “the hood”. I was a finance specialist so the required ASVAB scores were much higher, along with certain reqired HS math classes.
Most of the white guys in my specialty were from poor families looking for college money.
The white guys in Combat Arms I knew were mostly kids from rural areas looking for adventure, or couldn’t get the scores for other MOS’s.
My Finance company in Ft. Lewis was about 65% Black give or take out of 120 or so soldiers and officers. There was ONE black guy that could swim. When we did the water training myself and 3 other young white guys took turns swimming to the bottom of the deep end to retrieve the fake M-16 we were supposed to swim across with.
The Navy could probably get some very good blacks into SEALS without changing BUDs standards, but they would need an advanced swimming prep course for the blacks first. I knew a USCG rescue swimmer that went through BUDS and the CG had a prep school prior to him going because it was too expensive to have washouts. He said the grad rate for the Coasties was much higher than Navy or Marines.
Many blacks I knew excelled at PT, had super high aptitudes, viewed the military as a career, some could even shoot (not as good as me though). The swimming thing is a matter of exposure. Not many public pools in “The Hood”.
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