Missing in Action

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine the subject of African American United States Army officers and their service in the combat arms branches. The research uncovered the complex roles that African American combat arms officers assumed during the past century and how these roles evolved into their current variation that benefits from the Army's unwavering commitment to equal opportunity. A historic snapshot of 20th century America's domestic tensions frames the pressing issue of why African American officers currently choose to serve in the combat arms at a disproportional rate when compared with the African Americans represented in the army's total officer corps. The African American legacy during the 20th century is a narrative that explains the tremendous strides African Americans accomplished along the path to equality. African American army officers were forced to rely upon one another in order to complete their duties in academic and operational environments; therefore it was essential that information institutional wisdom and guidance were passed along. These efforts resulted in relationships that were based on mentorship. This research determined that mentoring is a key component in reducing the friction created by the diminished presence of African American combat arms officers. The research determined that several efforts needed to be initiated in order to mitigate the effects of this complex phenomenon. The efforts identified were associated with improvements in institutional mentoring practices within the Army increased networking within the active Army officer corps through organized support organizations partially staffed by retired Army officers and the leveraging of well established African American socio-economic institutions that weld influence in African American community. The ROCKS an organization whose core mission is to promote mentorship and networking among African American Army officers continues to positively impact officer gr</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>