Barbara C Sutton

Promotions Among the Ranks: A Focus on Black Military Officers Barbara C Sutton

Publisher Marketing: The purpose of the paper is to review the promotion trends of black officers in the Air Force. Recently the Air Force and other military services have been receiving extensive scrutiny and complaints about unfair promotion systems. A 1994 congressional investigation concluded that racial discrimination still existed in the military. Black military personnel complained that they received deficient evaluations and lacked prominent promotable positions. Many allegations by other groups revealed charges brought against supervisors and senior leaders, accusing them of cronysm, preferential treatment, as well as tampering and influencing boards. A review of the promotions trends for the past two decades indicated that black officers' promotion rates are disproportionate to white candidates and board averages. Additionally, senior military officers expressed their opinions about the promotion disparities among black officers. The conclusion from the review was there is a vast disparity of promotion board results in the Air Force as they relate to black officers. However, top Air Force military leaders have taken notable and spontaneous actions to eradicate the problem by revamping the evaluation process and establishing strong policies.