Navy's top admiral urges less talk, more action on diversity

PORTSMOUTH

Sixty years after President Truman integrated the military, the Navy’s top admiral said Thursday that more must be done to diversify the ranks – especially at the top.

“The lack of diversity in Navy leadership does not allow us to take advantage of varied perspectives, of varied experience. And as a result of that, we are a lesser service,” Adm. Gary Roughead said. “The time for talk is over. The only thing that matters now is action.”

Roughead, the chief of naval operations, spoke to hundreds of military officers attending the annual conference of the National Naval Officers Association. The association supports the development of a diverse officer corps in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard through recruiting, retention and career development.

While blacks make up about 17 percent of the total force, they are just 9 percent of all officers, according to data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press.

The rarity of blacks in the top ranks is apparent in one startling statistic: Only one of the 38 four-star generals or admirals serving as of May is black. And just 10 black men have ever gained four-star rank – five in the Army, four in the Air Force and one in the Navy, according to the Pentagon.

As a result, younger black officers have few mentors of their own race.

The anniversary of Truman’s order this week has led Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other top officials to reflect on how far the armed forces have come with racial integration and what they have yet to achieve.

Best known among the four-stars is retired Gen. Colin Powell, who later became the country’s first black secretary of state, under President George W. Bush.

In a stirring salute in the Capitol rotunda on Wednesday, Powell said that as a youngster in 1948, it never occurred to him that he could rise to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But when he joined the military 10 years later, “They no longer cared whether I was black or white, immigrant kid or not,” Powell told the crowd, which was dotted with the red blazers of Tuskegee Airmen – the first group of black fighter pilots allowed into the U.S. Army Air Corps that flew in World War II. “The only thing my commanders ever told me from 1958 for the rest of my career, is 'Can you perform?’ And that’s all we have ever asked for.”

Much progress has been made since 1948, Roughead said, when less than 1 percent of Navy officers were black. That figure is now about 8 percent, he said, but the Navy’s senior leaders need to better reflect the U.S. population, which is about 13 percent black and 15 percent Hispanic.

Roughead described various ways to bring more minority officers into senior leadership positions, none of which are quick solutions.

He stressed the importance of mentoring junior officers by steering them to posts that will help them ascend the ranks.

Another important facet: bringing in officers through the Naval Academy and university commissioning programs. Roughead talked about expanding preparatory school slots for potential Naval Academy students.

Roughead said 16 historically black colleges, including Hampton University and Norfolk State University, have naval reserve officer training programs, and the Navy is working to add programs at seven more.

“If you do not seek out students who are at historically black colleges to share with them opportunities that the U.S. Navy has, that is an opportunity missed,” Roughead said. “It’s an opportunity missed for the young men and women who attend that school; it’s an opportunity missed for all of us.”

Roughead wouldn’t wait until college to attract potential officers, however.

“We need to look younger,” the gray-haired admiral urged the audience, drawing a roar of laughs. Roughead chuckled, then rephrased the statement: “We really need to look at the younger demographic: middle schools.”

When students are applying to or visiting colleges, it might be too late to interest them in a military career, he warned.

The four-star admiral said he doesn’t envision recruiters canvassing middle schools. Rather, he wants ordinary sailors to tutor students, get involved in after-school or summer programs and talk about their experiences on submarines and ships.

“This is not a hard sell. This is not recruiting. This is simply sharing with young men and women what we do, what is possible and what the opportunities are,” Roughead said.

The chief of naval operations would not comment on another personnel issue in the news recently: the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bars gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the military.

On Wednesday, a congressional committee heard testimony on that policy for the first time in 15 years.

Asked whether the policy affects recruiting, retention and readiness, Roughead replied: “We’ve seen the numbers vary for a variety of reasons.

“The position I have on 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: It’s the law of the land. We abide by the law of the land.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com