Mike
18 September 2000, 16:42
three-parts article on minorities in SOF
San Diego Union-Tribune
September 17, 2000
Pg. 1
The Color of Commandos: Part One
Closed Ranks?
U.S. military's special-operations units have the least racial diversity
By James W. Crawley, Staff Writer
When a military mission requires stealth, speed, unconventional methods or political sensitivity, the Pentagon often assigns the job to its most elite fighting forces ... Army Special Forces and Rangers, Navy SEALs and Air Force air commandos.
Their assignments in recent years have included trudging through the jungles of Colombia to train anti-drug forces, rescuing a deposed Haitian leader and extracting downed U.S. pilots in Yugoslavia.
These special-operations forces are the best-trained units in America's arsenal. Using guns, knives and explosives is second nature. All are experienced paratroopers. Many speak a foreign language.
And nearly all are white. America's most elite forces are also the military's least racially diverse units.
While the military in general is fully integrated, the special-operations forces have remained a largely white community. Only about one in eight commandos is a soldier, sailor or airman of color, compared with one in three militarywide.
It's a situation that hasn't been lost on minority members of special-operations forces.
"Those that are perceived as the most elite will have the smallest minority representation," said Capt. Everett Greene, who recently retired as the top-ranking black officer in the Navy SEALs.
Why does it matter if a small segment of the otherwise racially diverse military has so few minority members?
It's the special-operations forces' missions ... all overseas, often working with foreign governments and often in secret ... that make ethnic diversity a significant issue with the brass. Top generals and admirals argue that having more minority troops would help bridge language and cultural differences that special-operations forces often encounter in foreign countries.
"There are some areas in the world where it's preferable for us to operate with something other than the traditional white male," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, the No. 2 general at the U.S. Special Operations Command.
"There's only an upside on this," he added.
In the broader scheme, the dearth of minorities in the elite forces is a sign of a much larger and more serious problem facing America and its armed forces, say sociologists who specialize in the military.
In a democracy, the sociologists argue, the military should be a reflection of the civilian society ... in economic, cultural and racial diversity. They warn that a growing gap is forming between the military and civilians because fewer Americans have served in a shrinking military or know people in uniform.
"The issue is, we have an unrepresentative military and the racial disparity (within special-operations forces) is just one manifestation," said sociologist Michael Desch.
If civilian leaders and military officers have less in common, be it race, culture, politics or economics, they are less likely to agree on national security issues, others said.
Civilian leaders without military experience might overstate or underestimate the military's readiness or ability to handle a mission. Likewise, military leaders might unintentionally give biased statements or may resent being given orders by civilians with little knowledge of the military, experts fear.
The issue is particularly significant in regard to special-operations forces because they are often the first American military presence in a foreign hot spot.
Another reason for alarm over the modest numbers of minorities in elite units is the potential for some units, such as support units, to become predominantly minority while special-operations units are predominantly white, said Joe Collins, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The result could cause problems with communications and coordination between soldiers and units, which would reduce readiness and might foster friction between units, he added.
Said Desch, "It's the big issue for the next 10 years."
But in the ranks, most special-operations personnel interviewed by The San Diego Union-Tribune at military bases from Coronado to Fort Bragg, N.C., are less theoretical. They said what counts most is camaraderie and completing their missions, not racial diversity.
"As long as the guy next to me has my back covered, I don't care if he's green," said Senior Master Sgt. Harvey Perriott, a black Air Force combat controller.
During the past four years, the racial disparity within special-operations forces has been the subject of a congressional mandate, Pentagon hand-wringing and a $400,000 Rand Corp. study. Meanwhile, the military has beefed up its recruiting campaigns and, most recently, made changes in special-operations training ... steps that could boost minority numbers.
"It's on the leadership's radar scope," said Air Force general Schwartz, deputy commander of the Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla. "This is first-drawer stuff."
But for all the effort and expense, the results have been modest ... or, some say, missing in action.
"If you look at the armed services where some say African-Americans are overrepresented and then look at the elite units and they are underrepresented, then something very bad is happening," said Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The military was the first large American institution to implement integration, starting in 1948 with an executive order by President Truman and forged by wars in Korea and Vietnam. While race relations within the military were marred by riots in the 1970s and scattered hate crimes in the 1990s, integration of the military has been held high as a success story. Blacks, and increasingly Latinos, have enlisted in the armed forces in large numbers.
Today the military, particularly the Army, remains one of the few settings in which blacks routinely boss whites. Blacks, Latinos, Asians, American Indians and other minorities now make up 34 percent of the military, greater than the 28.5 percent minority representation within the general U.S. population.
But the picture is very different in elite units.
-- Only 13 percent of the Pentagon's highly trained special-operations forces are racial minorities. Of the 8,775 Army, Navy and Air Force commandos, 1,180 are classified as minorities.
-- Less than 15 percent of the Army's Special Forces and Rangers personnel are soldiers of color, compared with about 40 percent of the entire Army.
-- About 11 percent of Navy SEALs, whose headquarters are in Coronado, are minorities. "We are underrepresented (with minorities) compared to what we'd like," acknowledged Rear Adm. Eric Olson, the Navy's top SEAL.
-- Eight percent of the Air Force's special-tactics and pararescue groups, the military's smallest commando force, are minority members.
The greatest disparity appears in the ranks of black servicemen.
-- The Army Special Forces, known by distinctive green berets, has 234 African-American officers and soldiers in a force of 5,200 men. Blacks make up 4.5 percent of the Green Berets, compared with nearly 24 percent of the male soldiers in the Army.
-- The Navy has only 31 blacks among its 2,299 Sea-Air-Land, or SEAL, commandos, less than 2 percent of the force. African-Americans constitute nearly 17 percent of the male personnel within the Navy.
-- And, the Air Force's special-tactics groups have only eight blacks in a force of 472 men, less than 2 percent. Servicewide, about 14 percent of the Air Force's male personnel are African-American.
The statistics have not improved significantly in recent years, despite heightened recruiting efforts.
Efforts to recruit and train more blacks and Latinos haven't been successful, as swimming requirements, low entrance-exam scores, family needs and perceptions of racism appear to have discouraged many minorities from joining.
During the past four years, the percentage of minorities has risen slightly in the Army Special Forces. But the number of minority graduates from Special Forces training dropped in 1999, meaning fewer blacks and Latinos are donning the green beret than before.
At the same time, minority numbers dropped a little in the Navy and Air Force. And it's not likely to get better for the Navy, as only one black since late 1998 has graduated from the grueling Basic Underwater Demolition-SEAL training program in Coronado.
No one has suggested implementing quotas, and every one of the dozens of commandos interviewed for this story, regardless of race or rank, balked at affirmative action.
"There's a fair amount of energy being expended here, and I would emphasize it's not to achieve any artificially established goals because we don't have any, but rather to satisfy a need," Schwartz said.
Some minority "operators" -- the nickname for special-operations soldiers -- suspect whites are quicker to be promoted and get better assignments in elite units.
Minorities are, as operators are keenly aware, also poorly represented among the top ranks of the Special Operations Command, which oversees the Pentagon's commando forces.
Only one black from special operations, Army Brig. Gen. Remo Butler, has reached flag rank -- general or admiral -- and that didn't happen until June.
Navy Capt. Everett Greene was selected as a rear admiral in 1994, but his promotion was canceled after he was court-martialed and then acquitted of sexual-harassment charges.
Few minority officers have been promoted above the ranks of major in the Army and Air Force. And, except for Greene, no black officer has risen above the equivalent rank of lieutenant commander in the SEALs, he said.
Also, no black has ever commanded any of the six SEAL teams or the two naval special warfare groups -- the SEALs' plum assignments, Greene said.
"Nobody is asking for any preferential treatment; folks are just asking for equitable treatment across the board," said the Army's Butler.
Joining the Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs or Air Force commandos requires a young man to volunteer three times -- for the military, for paratrooper school and for special-operations training. And personnel officials admit that while blacks volunteer for the military at a greater rate than white youths, the opposite is true for special operations.
To learn why, the Pentagon contracted with Rand in 1997 to do a $400,000 study of minority underrepresentation. A team of researchers spent months studying, analyzing statistics and interviewing operators.
When the report was released last year, it was no big surprise that they found that most minorities are in fact underrepresented, particularly in the officer ranks. The study, and Union-Tribune interviews with operators, indicated several real or perceived barriers that dissuade minorities, including:
-- Problems passing swimming tests.
-- Limited time with wives and families.
-- Few post-military career options.
-- Lack of minority role models.
-- Perceived racism.
-- Difficulty with small-unit combat skills and orienteering, the military art of cross-country navigation.
But the 165-page Rand report has critics, including Butler and military sociologists.
"This study was done by white people," Butler said. "Now, who has better rapport; who's going to get the truth from minorities? A bunch of guys who are white, with doctorate degrees, or someone who hangs out with (the soldiers) at the gym?"
He acknowledged that the results were "fairly valid," but could have been more accurate if minority interviewers had been hired by Rand.
The study was panned by a military sociologist who said it failed to determine whether minorities were being improperly kept out of special operations because of the entrance and training standards set by the military.
"The Rand study is completely inadequate because it never really examines the institutional factors which may be causing the underrepresentation to occur," said James Burk, a military sociologist at Texas A&M University. He said there was no follow-up into the potential for racism within the units.
However, top special operations officials are high on the report, saying the Rand study has helped the military focus efforts to boost minority recruitment and examine training barriers to minorities.
Yet, as the Special Operations Command tries to increase its minority numbers, recruiters are facing a more daunting task ... finding people, no matter what race, to join the special-operations ranks.
Like the regular military, special units are suffering from a dearth of recruits.
"We aren't going out of our way to refuse people" wanting to try out, said Col. Stephen Brown, personnel director for the Air Force Special Operations Command. "We're short everywhere with everybody."
San Diego Union-Tribune
September 18, 2000
The Color of Commandos: Part Two
To Excel Can Be ‘Hell’
Path to commando units is process of elimination
By James W. Crawley, Staff Writer
"Ka-BOOM!" "Rat-tat, rat-tat-tat, rat-tat."
It's 8:18 p.m. on a previously quiet Sunday evening in seaside Coronado. Tent flaps fly open and 78 men run out into the night. Their eyes and ears are assaulted by a cacophony of explosive concussions, machine-gun muzzle flashes and blaring whistles. Water is sprayed over the men as they do calisthenics on the concrete slab known as the "Grinder."
Next, the men are herded into the nearby surf, sitting with arms linked as the chilly, 62-degree water crashes over their bodies. Hell Week has begun.
For the next 110 hours, a cadre of SEAL instructors harasses, cajoles and intimidates these officers and sailors of Class 232 to drop out of the Navy's Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course.
"Hell Week is the defining moment," said Don Crawford, a retired SEAL and Naval Special Warfare Command historian.
No matter what happens later in his career, every SEAL has had to survive the rigors of Hell Week, Crawford said. The path to becoming a Navy SEAL, Army Green Beret, Army Ranger or Air Force air commando is an obstacle course meant not to train but to eliminate the unprepared.
So many are being eliminated that high-ranking military officials are changing the way sailors, soldiers and airmen are trained for special operations.
One-third or fewer of the soldiers and sailors who enter Army Green Beret and Navy SEAL selection programs graduate. At the Air Force special-operations indoctrination course, called "Superman School," about 10 percent finish.
Minorities typically fare far worse. Failure rates for blacks and Latinos have risen in recent years at Navy SEAL and Army Special Forces schools, military records show. The Air Force doesn't track students' race in its air commando training.
During six of the past seven years, the graduation rate of blacks in SEAL training has been one-third to one-half that of white sailors, while the Latino graduation rate largely has been a few percentage points less than the rate for whites.
But percentages are just one measure. Over the past seven years, 1,133 whites completed SEAL training, compared with 20 blacks and 103 Latinos. Often, a class will start with only one or two black trainees.
With so few blacks attempting SEAL training, retired Navy SEAL Capt. Everett Greene noted that most African-Americans have no role models or cohorts during training. Several minority officers said black men often do their best when they can bond with other blacks in school, social or work settings.
Without that companionship or bond, Greene added, "the ones and twos become zeros very quick.
At Fort Bragg, N.C., where the Army trains Green Berets, black graduation rates have been slightly higher than those of whites for two of the past three years for the initial Green Beret training, the 24-day Special Forces Assessment and Selection course.
But the story is very different during the longer, follow-up Special Forces Qualification Course, known as the "Q course," where prospective Green Berets learn skills like blowing up bridges, firing a mortar or treating wounds.
Blacks fared much worse than whites, Latinos and other minority groups.
Between 1997 and 1999, about 53 percent of African-Americans who earlier completed the assessment course passed the follow-up Q course, compared with 71 percent of whites and 62 percent of Latinos.
The worrisome graduation rates, for both minorities and whites, are fueling changes in the way the military selects and trains its commandos.
When Capt. Ed Bowen arrived as the new commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado in October 1999, he began to worry that the school had less to do with preparing trainees for SEAL duty and more with harassing sailors until they quit.
"What we were doing was senseless," Bowen said.
A falling graduation rate coupled with problems retaining veteran commandos was causing a shortage of SEALs.
Bowen has started a series of changes in hopes of boosting graduations and quality. Although those steps aren't directly targeting the minority question, Bowen believes they may help boost minority graduations.
"I think we can do it better and increase the number of graduates," he said.
One change was a surf-acclimation program to help build up the trainees' tolerance to cold ocean temperatures. Hypothermia is a major attrition factor for trainees. In the first class after the changes were instituted, 14 trainees dropped out the first week, compared with 50 in the previous class. And in the most fundamental change, Hell Week also has been altered.
It has been moved to the third week of the course, instead of week six. The belief is that students will be more physically fit and less likely to be injured during the five-day trial if it's held sooner than later.
Now the SEAL course is more than just seeing how much punishment a trainee can take. "It's also a good teaching experience," Bowen said.
After Hell Week, the new curriculum emphasizes combat training. Students will put on rucksacks, learn to patrol and practice small-boat missions.
"They didn't swim any less or sleep any more," said Rear Adm. Eric Olson, who commands the SEALs.
The goal is a 10 percent to 15 percent improvement in the graduation rate, Olson added. Times also are changing for the Green Berets.
Out in the piney woods east of Fort Bragg's main garrison area is Camp Mackall. Eight times a year, several hundred men walk through the gates and start 24 days of physical and mental stress. None are known by their name or rank, just their number.
One of the toughest barriers for minorities at Camp Mackall had been the swim test -- 50 meters in camouflage uniform and boots.
Six times more blacks than whites failed the swim test, an Army study showed. The failures illustrate that fewer blacks, because of cultural, economic or geographic factors, learned to swim than their white counterparts.
The Army began a two-week remedial swimming program this year, taught by retired Green Beret Charles Simmons.
"The majority aren't afraid of water; they need to know the techniques," said Simmons, who is black. During Simmons' first class, 14 of 15 students passed the test. But swimming hasn't been the only barrier for minorities.
About 30 percent of those who passed the initial course failed land navigation and combat tactics classes taught during the follow-up Q course.
Further analysis indicated that most of the dropped trainees were minorities who had been in noncombat jobs before applying to Special Forces.
Those Q-course failures are a major drain on Special Forces because the Army loses valuable time and money moving and training those students at Fort Bragg, said Lt. Col. Michael Nagata, who until recently oversaw Green Beret training.
Nagata devised a new training system that he hopes will "front-load" the dropouts in the shorter, less-expensive Assessment and Selection course. But don't think the assessment course has gotten easier.
Unlike the old way, where students got hot meals, showers and a bed every night, trainees now spend 13 days sleeping under ponchos, eating combat rations and learning land navigation and tactics.
"In the past, you would show up and we'd assess you on the skills you came to the door with," said Maj. Tony Fletcher, who runs Camp Mackall. "We needed a method to assess their commitment and motivation and that (each) was trainable."
Adding the training should reduce student dropouts during the later Q course, Special Forces officers said.
Nagata believes minority completion rates may rise because the additional training should help those from noncombat units, from which most of the minority troops come.
At Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, the air commandos' "Superman School" is changing, too, with instructors now working with students to erase weaknesses. Those who fail one test are dropped only if they fail a subsequent test.
"With our low numbers, anything an instructor can do to get the numbers up is appreciated," said Master Sgt. Craig Showers, indoctrination course commandant.
Back in Coronado, it's 9:30 a.m. Friday. It has been slightly more than 109 hours since Hell Week started, and 57 men remain. The rest of the original 78 quit, were injured or were culled by instructors.
The trainees are crawling through the brown water and muck of the "demolition pit," two muddy ponds connected by culverts and surrounded by a sand berm on the Silver Strand beach.
One of the slime-covered sailors was Bowen, who at 53 is 30 years older than many trainees. His broad smile stood out amid the trainees' grimy grimaces.
He crawled alongside students, offering words of encouragement or a pat on the back as machine guns barked blanks and whistling firecrackers burst nearby. Despite his intrusion, the instructors ignored their boss's presence.
Unlike his predecessors, Bowen has spent hours running and swimming with the trainees, offering encouragement. It's his way of motivating them to succeed.
After negotiating the concrete culverts, the students lay and sat submerged along the edges of the northern pit, which had two long ropes stretched above the muck.
As the gunfire died down, the instructors told the trainees to cross the pit using the ropes. One by one the exhausted men, feet planted on the lower rope, hands grasping the upper one, tried to cross the pit. Four sailors, with loud encouragement from instructors, pulled and yanked the top rope. Trainees bobbed and weaved before flopping into the water.
In among the trainees, Bowen suggested they try working together.
"Think about how to do it as a team, not as an individual," he said.
Working as a team, not physical stamina, is the real lesson of the SEALs course and the other services' special-operations training.
Within a few minutes, the students organized themselves into a line that inched its way across the ropes, now too heavy to be pulled or yanked.
Bowen then gathered the 57 trainees around him and announced, "Hell Week is secured."
Lots of hard work remained. More students will leave during the remaining six months of training -- either recycled to later classes because of injuries, like Class 232's two black trainees, or dropped after failing.
No matter what happens at Coronado, Fort Bragg and Lackland, graduation standards will not be compromised, not for racial diversity or a lack of commandos, military officials said.
The changes move away from pressuring candidates until they quit to training them to measure up, said Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, deputy commander in chief of the Special Operations Command. However, he added: "This does not mean we have altered the exit criteria. We haven't."
From even higher, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry Shelton, himself a Green Beret, said that while increasing minority numbers is a goal, it's important to maintain standards. That's because the use of special-operations forces has strategic consequences far greater than their small size, he said.
"They've got to meet the standards we demand of them," Shelton said during a visit to Coronado. "As we speak today, they do ... and I'm confident they will in the future."
For now, Shelton admits special-operations forces are still coming up short with minorities.
"The initiatives that are ongoing have made some improvement," he said, "but not to the level I think we can be satisfied with."
San Diego Union-Tribune
September 18, 2000
Pg. 1
The Color of Commandos: Part Two
Special-Operations Duty Proves To Be A Tough Sell To Minorities
By James W. Crawley, Staff Writer
(Second of two parts)
Navy recruiter Tom Washington had a dilemma: How do you rappel off a tall building when your rope is too short?
Washington isn't a run-of-the-mill recruiter. He's a Navy SEAL, and it's his job to excite and persuade young men to try out for one of the military's most elite and selective units.
So, how better to impress some high school students and other prospective sailors in San Antonio, Texas, than by leaping off the top of the local federal building?
Washington and a colleague spliced together two ropes, solving the rope conundrum and demonstrating the elite military unit's can-do spirit.
As hundreds of students and bystanders watched, the pair rappelled down the building to the accompaniment of a Navy band. Mission accomplished.
Afterward, Washington and his colleague were the center of attention as students surrounded them, asking questions about the SEALs.
"I'm like their Santa Claus," Washington said. "For that day, they're motivated. But after we leave, will that motivation stay?"
That's no small question. These days, Navy, Army and Air Force recruiters are finding it an increasingly tough challenge to get young men to join the ranks of America's commando forces. And, the hardest sell has been to minorities.
Not only are few people of color enlisting with hopes of serving in elite units, but those in uniform are staying away, too. Many don't want to trade family life for foreign assignments. Others can't pass the rigorous swimming tests, or they worry about racial harassment in the overwhelmingly white units.
About one in five soldiers, sailors and airmen volunteering for special operations training is a minority member, while one-third of all military recruits are minorities, according to Pentagon statistics.
While the numbers of minority Army Special Forces candidates rose slightly over the past two years, the Navy suffered a drop in black and Latino volunteers for the SEALs during the same period.
The Air Force doesn't keep records on the number of minorities entering its training.
In recent years, the Pentagon has cranked up efforts to attract more minorities, although no goals or quotas have been set. But signing up more blacks and Latinos has become especially problematic, as the military also is having difficulty recruiting in general -- although this year the Pentagon is optimistic about meeting its enlistment goals.
A strong civilian economy and a decreasing interest in armed service are cited as major causes for the drop in enlistments.
The Navy can train up to 900 SEAL candidates each year, but since 1993, no more than 751 candidates have started SEAL training during any year.
The Army has increased its Special Forces recruiting goal from 661 soldiers in 1994 to 1,800 this year because the force has increased in size since the Persian Gulf War. Recruiting officials expect to barely meet the annual goal.
The Air Force has been unable to meet its needs either, having less than 80 percent of its air commando positions filled this year.
Several special-operations officials believe that boosting minority recruitments would help bolster the units' complement.
Why are so few minorities interested in joining the Pentagon's most elite forces? The reasons are numerous.
For many, water is the great barrier. Commandos, whether Navy, Army or Air Force, must swim. Special-operations missions can range from covert surveillance of a beach where Marines will land to a parachute-borne rescue of downed Air Force fliers 1,000 miles at sea, or Green Berets using scuba gear to infiltrate enemy positions.
For the Army's Green Berets and Rangers, prospects must swim just 50 meters. For the Navy and Air Force, candidates must swim miles before they can graduate.
Air Force 1st Lt. Andre Lobo would be the perfect combat controller, an air commando who goes into hostile territory ahead of other American forces, said his boss, Col. Jeff Buckmelter, commanding officer of the 720th Special Tactics Group.
Lobo, a staff officer, is certainly athletic enough. The Air Force Academy graduate enjoys running and sky diving. And, he's black. There are no African-American officers in combat control. His only problem?
"When I see a swimming qualification, I usually say it's not for me," Lobo said. Not having learned to swim until the academy, Lobo doesn't have the confidence in his swimming ability he needs to pass the commando indoctrination course.
Some observers speculate that black youths, particularly inner-city residents, have few opportunities to learn swimming and little encouragement to learn.
Physical endurance and ability aside, there's another fundamental reason so few servicemen, minority and otherwise, seek membership in elite units. Simply put, the nation isn't at war, and they didn't enlist to fight.
Instead, many signed up to learn skills they can take back to the public sector -- such as truck maintenance, health care, food service or communications, according to a study by Rand Corp. researchers.
Others are thinking more about their families than military glory or living on the edge.
The Rand study found that many Latino soldiers surveyed mentioned a perception that special ops keeps soldiers away from their families longer than other Army units. While unit deployments are generally a few months long in special ops, the training tempo is high and divorce is rampant within Special Forces, soldiers said.
"Hispanics are more family-oriented," said Jaime Reyes, a sergeant first class in a support unit for Special Forces troops at Fort Bragg. "They know that once they go into Special Forces that means a lot of time away from their families.
"That's one of my reasons (for not trying out for the Green Berets). The only way I'd join is if I'm single."
A further impediment is the perception of racial prejudice -- often perpetuated by the absence of minorities.
"The reason we don't have more minorities here is because we don't have more minorities here," said Navy Capt. Ed Bowen, who commands the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado.
Bowen said that if more blacks were Navy SEALs, prospective black sailors might be more inclined to try out for the job.
Minorities have to reach a "critical mass" that shows potential candidates that minorities are welcome and essential personnel within the community, he added.
Racism or the perception of racial discrimination also may be factors in discouraging blacks and other minorities from joining special-operations forces, said Rand researchers and others.
It's the perception that matters, not whether racism really exists, said Brig. Gen. Remo Butler, the first black Green Beret general.
With his cannonball-shaped head and arm muscles sculpted by years of off-duty professional boxing, Butler frequently is mistaken for a first sergeant rather than a general.
During workouts at the gym, Butler tries to recruit young black soldiers for Special Forces.
"Consistently, I get the same answer," he said. "'`Sir, Special Forces is full of rednecks and Klansmen.'."
Or, they tell Butler that no blacks are in Special Forces.
"Perception is a very strong thing," he added. "Perception is reality."
While many minority members of Special Forces said their units had been free of racial tension, they agreed some forms of racism still exist within the military.
White-supremacist and militia groups appear to have sympathizers and, likely, a foothold within special-operations forces, particularly Army Special Forces, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.
Former Green Berets have been tied to several militia and neo-Nazi groups.
Top special-operations officers discount the impact of white supremacists and militias.
How can Special Forces troops be prejudiced when half of their work is living in foreign countries and teaching foreign troops? asked Army Maj. Anthony Fletcher, a black Green Beret.
"When you go to another country, you are a minority," he added. "You are an American."
There is no room for prejudice or racism, commandos said, because units are so small, usually a dozen men or fewer, that everyone must depend on everyone else.
"If we go to `the show' (war or battle), you have to depend on the guy on your left and right," said Sgt. Cedric Turner, a black Ranger at Fort Benning, Ga.
Butler said many African-Americans who fail Special Forces training may believe their failure was because of race and will tell others, "Don't go there," and those men won't take a chance.
Several black operators said fellow minorities are more scrutinized and often held to a higher standard than their white counterparts.
"If a black (messes) up, the next black starts at that point," said Chief Petty Officer Rob Roy, a black SEAL based in Coronado.
While the three services acknowledge a lack of minority volunteers, only the Navy has acted aggressively to solve the problem.
That's where guys like Washington come in.
The Navy sends him and other SEAL recruiters to high schools and ethnic festivals. It sponsors school programs, such as the Inner City Games, in predominantly minority areas. Even the SEAL training base in Coronado has become a tourist attraction for high school and college tour groups.
As the SEALs' only black recruiter before he retired this summer, Washington often visited inner-city schools on the West Coast.
During assemblies, Washington's presentation was encouraging, albeit blunt.
"You don't have to be Tarzan or an Olympic swimmer or a track star," Washington said. "But to succeed, you will become an athlete."
The lean, muscular, 45-year-old petty officer first class often demonstrated his athletic abilities, taking the SEAL fitness qualification test alongside prospective candidates half his age -- and besting them most times.
Next summer, the SEALs plan to offer a junior SEAL training course for junior ROTC students from Detroit and St. Louis high schools. The idea is to pique adolescent interest in the Navy and SEALs early, officials said. It's a long-term approach that Navy officials hope will increase minority numbers within a few years.
"We need to expose people at a younger age," said Rear Adm. Eric Olson, who commands the SEALs.
It's a soft sell, done hard.
In Miami, the SEALs' Leapfrog parachute team sky-dived at a predominantly Latino high school, and they got TV and radio air time while in town, said Lt. Tom Greer, who heads the SEAL recruiting office. Rappelling, scuba demonstrations and static displays also are in the SEALs' recruiting arsenal.
Minorities are an under-recruited niche market, said Bowen, who oversees SEAL training.
Many inner-city blacks and Latinos have been toughened by a hard life, Bowen suggested. Athletically and academically, there are no reasons why minorities should have problems with SEAL training, he said.
"You can get tough in the ghetto," said Bowen, adding: "It's not rocket science. We're a blue-collar organization."
However, SEAL recruiters admit the results have been paltry. Meanwhile, the other services are playing catch-up.
The Army is adding people and money to its recruitment effort. It has assigned 25 recruiters to Special Forces and four more are going to be added, said Maj. Ray Salmon, the Green Beret in charge.
The recruiting budget is $590,000, and he could use more, Salmon added. There is a Green Beret recruiting Web page, plus advertising fliers, brochures and ads in base newspapers, a toll-free phone number and recruiter visits to every Army base with likely candidates.
The Air Force Special Operations Command has added its own recruiter to help the service's regular recruiting staff. It also has created a parachute team called STARS, for Special Tactics and Rescue Specialists.
However, the Army and Air Force recruiting efforts aren't specifically targeting minorities. They're just trying to get more qualified operators, no matter the race. And, they hope, the number of minorities will increase, too.
The Navy, Army and Air Force also are changing the way they select commandos, hoping to reduce the high number of minorities who wash out during training.
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