197 lines
6.8 KiB
YAML
197 lines
6.8 KiB
YAML
abstract: 'Since the end of the draft in 1973, African Americans have been
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overrepresented among volunteers for the US Armed Forces.(1) While many
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commentators have hailed the military as a uniquely egalitarian avenue
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for social and economic advancement in a society beset with racial
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inequities, the high participation rate among blacks has periodically
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led to concerns that they (and more recently, other ethnic minorities
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such as Hispanics) would disproportionately suffer from casualties in
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the event of military hostilities.(2) However, after numerous US
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military engagements since the 1970s, these fears have not been borne
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out. In fact, African Americans seem less likely to die in combat than
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their overall representation in uniform would suggest. Taken at face
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value, the racial composition of US combat casualties stands in stark
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contrast to the racial pattern of morbidity and mortality in the larger
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society, where African Americans as a group fare worse than whites on
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measures such as death rates, infant mortality, and life expectancy.(3)
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It would seem that, as a comparatively disadvantaged group, African
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Americans in the all-volunteer era have reaped the benefits of military
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service without unduly bearing its ultimate burdens. However,
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explanations for the unexpectedly low African American casualty rate
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have not been rigorously examined. Furthermore, assessing the racial
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equity of military service based on historical casualty patterns assumes
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that future combat operations will closely resemble those that have
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occurred since Vietnam-an assumption that in this new century looks
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increasingly untenable.
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Extending the work of Martin Binkin and his collaborators,(4) this study
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argues that the racial composition of combat casualties reflects three
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factors: the social processes that sort volunteers into various military
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units and occupational specialties; the mix of units and specialties
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that participate in military operations; and the battlefield conditions
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they encounter. Or put another way, given a particular environment
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within which armed conflict occurs, the probability of any person
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becoming a casualty is a function of their representation in those units
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most likely to make hostile contact with enemy forces. Following this,
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the underrepresentation of African Americans in the units most involved
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in combat operations since Vietnam may partly explain the disjuncture
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between their military participation and casualty rates. By extension,
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the higher propensity of whites to serve in combat capacities could
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explain their higher-than-expected, post-Vietnam casualty rate. The same
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may be true of ethnic Hispanics, who are also overrepresented in the
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combat arms, though their reasons for volunteering for such assignments
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may differ from those of their non-Hispanic white counterparts.
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The short duration of post-Vietnam US ground combat engagements such as
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Panama and Somalia-as well as the prominent roles played by special
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operations and light-infantry units for which blacks are less likely to
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volunteer(5)-has thus far prevented a rigorous evaluation of such
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propositions. However, the 2003-2004 conflict in Iraq presents one
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opportunity to assess the race distribution of US casualties under
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varying combat conditions. First, compared to other combat engagements
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since Vietnam, many diverse military units have been operating in Iraq
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for a relatively long time. Second, the US military experience in Iraq
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has been, broadly speaking, marked by differing conflict environments.
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In the relatively brief opening period, coalition ground combat forces
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(mainly US and British infantry and armor) rapidly penetrated deep into
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enemy territory and carried out offensive actions primarily against
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Iraqi military forces. The subsequent-and ongoing-mission involves
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efforts by combat and noncombat personnel (e.g., intelligence, police,
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logistical, and civil affairs) to consolidate US control, restore civil
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order, pacify hostile forces, and administer occupied areas.
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This study assesses the racial equity of military service by examining
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the racial distribution of US casualties in Iraq for the first twelve
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months national dialogue on the equity of military service may shift
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back to the social process that impels whites-particularly those from
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the lower socioeconomic strata-into the ranks. However, should US troops
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resume large-scale offensive campaigns against a number of seerningly
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growing and increasingly well-organized insurgent threats, casualties
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among blacks and Hispanics may creep up to a point where the fairness of
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military sacrifice again becomes an uncomfortable racial issue.
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On a final note, the findings of this study are not germane only to the
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military experiences of the United States. As of 2000, several advanced
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industrial democracies with long histories of conscription had abandoned
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the practice in favor of voluntary service, or had plans to phase it out
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by 2004. (36) Some nations with rising immigration rates have
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experienced increased racial and ethnic diversity in their volunteer
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militaries,(37) while others (such as Spain and France) actively recruit
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foreign volunteers. At the same time, conflicts such as Kosovo in 1999
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and contemporary operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have subjected the
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militaries of many nations to their first hostile fire in decades (for
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example, coalition casualties in Iraq include personnel from Italy,
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Spain, Poland, Denmark, and Bulgaria). To the degree that ethnic
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enlistment patterns are similarly structured by socioeconomic factors,
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debates about military equity and recruitment policies in the US case
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may presage similar dialogues elsewhere.'
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affiliation: 'Gifford, B (Corresponding Author), Univ Calif Berkeley, Robert Wood
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Johnson Fdn, 140 Warren Hall,MC 7360, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA.
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Univ Calif Berkeley, Robert Wood Johnson Fdn, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA.'
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author: Gifford, B
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author-email: gifford@berkeley.edu
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author_list:
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- family: Gifford
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given: B
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da: '2023-09-28'
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doi: 10.1177/0095327X0503100203
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files: []
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issn: 0095-327X
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journal: ARMED FORCES \& SOCIETY
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keywords-plus: 'BRITISH-ARMED-SERVICES; UNITED-STATES MILITARY; PARTICIPATION;
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ENLISTMENTS; UNIFORM; FORCES'
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language: English
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month: WIN
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number: '2'
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number-of-cited-references: '41'
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pages: 201+
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papis_id: 6b508f65bc6511dbdd06b90f753240bc
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ref: Gifford2005combatcasualties
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researcherid-numbers: Baltutyte, Gerda/AGH-5630-2022
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times-cited: '35'
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title: 'Combat casualties and race: What can we learn from the 2003-2004 Iraq conflict?'
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type: article
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unique-id: WOS:000227100600002
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usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
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usage-count-since-2013: '14'
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volume: '31'
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web-of-science-categories: Political Science; Sociology
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year: '2005'
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