OPINION

Lack Of Diversity In Leadership Leaves Navy Sailors Of Color Stranded

I spent six years in the Navy as a SONAR Technician and was stationed on a destroyer in Washington state for five of those years.

I deployed with NATO forces in 2019 for seven months and returned January 2020. During my time in the Navy, I noticed a quietly dismissive attitude towards racial issues.

Most notably, following the murder of George Floyd, our crew was ordered not to attend any demonstrations with any representations of the Navy. We were told that we could speak with our leadership if we needed to process any mental health issues.

But, when it seemed there was a challenge to racial attitudes on our ship, it seemed that we were told that we were all the same family in the Navy and that was final.

Furthermore, I couldn’t help but notice that leadership in our crew did not reflect the quite the same demographics as lower enlisted members. But I did not think to research the demographics of the Navy until quite recently.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with the leadership structure, enlisted members make up the majority of the military workforce, and enlistments often require significantly less education demands.

Officers are offered ranks before assuming their commission, which lends a position of authority over enlisted personnel.

Higher ranks generally means higher pay, so officers are compensated at a higher rate than enlisted personnel.

The Navy may have a diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity, and sometimes national origin. The ban during the previous presidential administration on transgender servicemembers has limited gender diversity. However, diversity in population does not always translate to equity, particularly with respect to race.

We can see this most evidently with respect to opportunities for leadership positions.

According to a report released by the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity in 2016, white service members accounted for 79.2% of Naval officers of all ranks, a whopping 89% of senior officers (O7-O10) and almost 63.7% of senior enlisted leaders (E7-E9).

Their African American counterparts only accounted for 7.3% of Naval officers of all ranks, a dismal 5% of senior officers (O7-O10), and a more respectable 18.6% of senior enlisted leaders (E-9). Asian service members made up 4.8% of all Naval officers, only 3.7% of senior officers, and 7.4% senior enlisted.

Hispanic service members made up 7.5% of all Naval officers, 2.8% of senior officers, 13.1% of senior enlisted. (It should be noted that Hispanic is not a race-- it is an ethnicity but was included in the report as a reference).

This is reflected in almost any leadership position in the United States. However, the numbers do not stop there.

Because something more concerning happens when you look at the makeup of the most junior enlisted of the Navy in 2016.

The proportion of almost all races went in the opposite direction. White service members made up (significantly) less of junior enlisted sailors, and all other races and ethnicities increased.

African American servicemembers accounted for 21% of junior enlisted (E1-E3); Asian sailors accounted for 4.9% of junior enlisted; and Hispanic sailors accounted for 16.6% of the makeup of junior ranks.

White sailors made up 59.1% of junior enlisted. That’s a 20.1% decrease from making up 79.2% of all Naval officers, a 29.9% decrease from making up 89% of senior officers (O7-O10), and 4.6% decrease from making up 63.7% of senior enlisted.

This is chilling to me for several reasons.

1) Opportunities are not fairly distributed in the Navy.

2) Junior enlisted are placed in danger more often than senior enlisted and officers. Does that feel like an assumption?

African American veterans of all branches make up 19% of disability claims and Hispanic American veterans make up 18% of disability claims, while white veterans make up 12% of disability claims, according to the Pew Research Center.

As a separate note, women of all branches make up 16% of disabled veterans, despite only making up 27% of the military.

According to research conducted by Armed Forces & Society, health indicators are higher for veterans who served as officers as opposed to junior enlisted.

3) Service in the military means more opportunities for many service members. But the military itself seems to reflect similar racial inequities to civilian life, despite often claiming to be blind to race.

This is a myth, as evidenced by the racial makeup of naval leadership.

4) Of course, leadership means power in decisionmaking. If decisions are made without diversity of input, service members of color will continue to be disregarded. Racism permeates the military; this is reflected anecdotally and in data.

How do we fix this? Well, it’s a toss-up. But here are a few of my suggestions:

1) Stop the school to military pipeline. Recruiters are often more likely to be accepted in or even invited to schools with lower funding, which almost always translates to schools with a higher population of students of color.

2) Reform the immigration system. Many service members of color join to gain citizenship or to help their family members gain a form of residence. Even after they join, citizenship is not guaranteed, but they must finish their service either way. It is not unusual for veterans to be deported.

3) Often becoming an officer requires a college degree. But it does not in all cases.

I say the following with certainty albeit admittedly based solely on my own observations: a college education does not equate to leadership skills or intelligence.

Allow enlisted members more pathways to commissioned leadership (officer positions) without a college degree.

Many enlisted members join the military because they need to make money to eat and feed their families today.

Not tomorrow or in four years— after a college education. During my time in the Navy, I realized a trend that has rarely proved wrong: most people enlist because they are broke, lonely or desperate. The first reason is by far the most prevalent that I have found.

4) Address racism in the Navy with off-ship authority and accountability. Often discrimination cases are underreported for fear of reprisal or concern for disruption to operation.

A “color-blind” bureaucracy like the Navy will never be able to address racism because bureaucracy leaves little room for nuances, which I would argue is where racism lives.

For instance, black sailors are grossly overrepresented with the populations of the Navy that receives non-judicial punishments. While they only made up 19% of the Navy’s enlisted force in 2020, they comprised 29% of the population that received nonjudicial punishments.

This can also affect their ability to advance to leadership positions, further exacerbating the lack of representation in leadership.

Much needs to be done in the Navy before true equality exists for people of color, as well as women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Representation in leadership will not ensure equality, but representation is a start to begin to think critically about how our service members are treated in the Navy and the broader military.”

BY BRYAN HERNANDEZ