Young Blacks, Females Saying No to Army [View All]

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Young Blacks, Females Saying No to Army
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

Tuesday, March 8, 2005


(03-08) 10:55 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --


To the daily drumbeat of casualty reports from Iraq, young blacks and women are marching away from offers to join the Army.


These trends, combined with the negative effects of the Army's image as a last-resort career choice for what one study called the "average Joe," suggests the military's largest service may be entering a prolonged recruiting slump at a time when it is trying to expand its ranks.


The share of blacks in the Army's recruiting classes has plummeted by about one-third over the past five years. It has continued slipping this year despite more generous enlistment bonuses offered to all prospective recruits and an increase in the number of recruiters.


"More African-Americans identify having to fight for a cause they don't support as a barrier to military service," concluded an August 2004 study for the Army. It also said attitudes toward the Army among all groups of American youth have grown more negative in recent years.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/08/national/w105503S40.DTL