Assuming Blacks are less Capable (in the Military)

[DGS49]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

 

[Vrenn]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

First of all, I worked with "Blacks" in the Military and owe my bacon to some of them. Once the ball drops, there are no differences. And anyone believing there is should NEVER be in the Military because you are going to get your own guys killed needlessly.

 

[Mac-7]

Undoubtedly true.

And yet the military was committed to promoting blacks so many were pushed up the ladder who did not qualify.

and not just in the military but in the civilian world also

 

[Whodatsaywhodat.]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

Democrats are racists, always about skin color and not about merits. They should never hold power.

 

[Correll]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

First of all, I worked with "Blacks" in the Military and owe my bacon to some of them. Once the ball drops, there are no differences. And anyone believing there is should NEVER be in the Military because you are going to get your own guys killed needlessly.

Are you saying that dem presidents have NOT been committed to racial equality in the officer ranks?

 

[White 6]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

Since there is no link in your thread to the President forcing a top-down demand the blacks be promoted over better qualified whites, (for any reason), much less for satisfying anybody's guilt, could you post us a credible link to material supporting your premise or did you make it up while watching TV?

 

[Vrenn]

Undoubtedly true.

And yet the military was committed to promoting blacks so many were pushed up the ladder who did not qualify.

and not just in the military but in the civilian world also

Not in the Military I was in. The Air Force promoted on ability and a few other things. If anything, Blacks had a tougher time.

 

[MisterBeale]

 

[Vrenn]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

First of all, I worked with "Blacks" in the Military and owe my bacon to some of them. Once the ball drops, there are no differences. And anyone believing there is should NEVER be in the Military because you are going to get your own guys killed needlessly.

Are you saying that dem presidents have NOT been committed to racial equality in the officer ranks?

I make no judgement because it was way above my pay grade to do so.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

Since there is no link in your thread to the President forcing a top-down demand the blacks be promoted over better qualified whites, (for any reason), much less for satisfying anybody's guilt, could you post us a credible link to material supporting your premise or did you make it up while watching TV?

I was in from 1979 to 1995 and in the 80's I had to fill out forms on how many minorities were in my section, how many got promoted each quarter,but ya no one ever told me to promote any over others. and in enlisted ranks the system for promotion did not include anyway to promote any specific race over another.

 

[IM2]

Why do whites not ever consider the possibility of an unqualified white person?

Thomas Sowell is an idiot. Find a real sociologist and not an economist.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Why do whites not ever consider the possibility of an unqualified white person?

Thomas Sowell is an idiot. Find a real sociologist and not an economist.

why do you assume we dont?

 

[Mac-7]

Not in the Military I was in. The Air Force promoted on ability and a few other things. If anything, Blacks had a tougher time.

Even an organization devoted to diversity has to draw the line somewhere

blacks who had a tougher time were REALLY not qualified

 

[Quasar44]

Blacks are very good in the military
As are Mexicans and white southerners
They seem to excel

 

[Correll]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

First of all, I worked with "Blacks" in the Military and owe my bacon to some of them. Once the ball drops, there are no differences. And anyone believing there is should NEVER be in the Military because you are going to get your own guys killed needlessly.

Are you saying that dem presidents have NOT been committed to racial equality in the officer ranks?

I make no judgement because it was way above my pay grade to do so.

You make no judgement because you know that your position is ignoring generations of "Affirmative Action" and "diversity" goals.

 

[TheParser]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

In the coming decades, "diversity" will become the rule for all jobs (both civilian & military).

Is this good for the nation?

Everyone has his/her own opinion.

Are some groups less intelligent than other groups?

Again everyone has his/her own opinion.

But it does not matter what anyone thinks.

"Diversity" & "equity" are here to stay.

Does the United States of America have a bright future?

Personally, I feel the answer is obvious.

 

[Taz]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

Biden is just trying to break up the ol' boys network and give others a chance. Otherwise, the high ranks of the military stay white, and not because of any White superiority, but simply because of systemic racism.

PS When sunni agrees with you, you know you've just fucked up.

 

[Vrenn]

Not in the Military I was in. The Air Force promoted on ability and a few other things. If anything, Blacks had a tougher time.

Even an organization devoted to diversity has to draw the line somewhere

blacks who had a tougher time were REALLY not qualified

The system the AF uses inherently makes it easy for one person to have a tougher time than another regardless of ability. Yes, that person can get around that by being so much better in time but it can slow them down.

 

[Likkmee]

Black folk are a great asset to our valuable K9 units. They are the first sent in to make sure their are no mines that can kill the dogficers. You know how much training goes into the making of a war dog ? Very few make the requirements.

 

[Godboy]

A "Sixty Minutes" feature this evening reported widespread belief by African American soldiers (sailors, airmen) and officers that throughout their careers they have had to "prove themselves" over and over, in the face of widespread belief (prejudice) of their inferiority on the part of their [white] commanding officers.

Undoubtedly true.

I remember seeing an interview with Calvin Murphy (short NBA star) many years ago, when he noted the number of times when he would be traveling with his teammates, and people would come up to him (a 5'9" NBA perennial All Star), and ask him if the other guys - much taller, obviously - were professional basketball players. Those people assumed that because he was only 5'9" tall, he was obviously not one of the NBA players in the crowd. I wonder if Murphy ever had to "prove himself" as he progressed from grade school to HS to college and the NBA.

Are these phenomena analogous?

The veterans participating on this site are probably aware that enlisted recruits used to be required to take a battery of aptitude and intelligence tests, the scores of which remained part of the soldier's personnel file for their entire careers. In the Army, the "GT" score (an average of two test scores, verbal and arithmetical), was analogous to an IQ test, however with a 20-point standard deviation rather than 15 on IQ tests. Of the thousands of DD Form 20's that I saw during my three years working in Personnel, I may have seen 10 "Negroes" with GT scores over 120. And this is not exceptionally bright, just a little better than average. Officers who were selecting soldiers for special assignments, promotions, and higher-level training were aware of this discrepancy, and if a Black soldier were recommended that Officer (or panel) was aware of this factor and the Black soldier had to "prove himself" to get that honor or assignment.

Rightly so.

And as a result, the percentage of military enlisted men advancing was not the same as the percentage of Blacks in the overall enlisted ranks. It shouldn't be. I have no doubt the same factors apply in the Officer ranks. The same phenomenon explains why 13% of STEM PhD's are not African American (and most are in very soft academic fields).

So now the Biden Administration will force a top-down demand that Blacks be promoted over better qualified "whites" in order to satisfy Joe Biden's white guilt. Just like he did with his choice of a VP.

Will this make us better at preventing wars, killing people and breaking stuff?

Hardly.

First of all, I worked with "Blacks" in the Military and owe my bacon to some of them. Once the ball drops, there are no differences. And anyone believing there is should NEVER be in the Military because you are going to get your own guys killed needlessly.

In Navy boot camp, we had 10 black guys in our company. Not a single one of them could swim. Every one of them almost got held back because they couldnt tread water. Fortunately, the Navy had them trained just enough to pass after a week. The swimming requirements are laughable. They were all at the bottom of the class academically as well (literally the bottom 10 out of 100 men), which seemed almost statistically impossible.