Targeting Minorities for Enlistment

By Dana Araujo / Winter 2020

Social systems in the U.S have shaped the way people go through everyday life. It is a framework that everyone partakes in even if you don't realize it. The education system for example is a system that everyone in the U.S has to go through, this system’s criteria is flawed in that there are certain histories that students are not introduced to. This could be problematic since we are deprived from the actual history that has shaped the U.S. For my social system I have chosen the military system, this system is close to me and dissecting it seemed interesting. My husband is currently serving in the U.S Navy. I was there when he decided to enlist in the military. This decision was something that he felt he had to do because he did not want to go to school and considering that the recruiter was also a minority they connected on that level. We have to realize that yes being a part of the military isn't the worst but there are so many other opportunities that could benefit you more. I began to notice this trend with my husband’s friends, many minorities being a part of the military because they thought that this was the only thing to do other than school. Another reason why many people join is because California has the highest active duty population, more specifically “​California has (159,380)” personnel (America’s promise alliance). Many of my husband’s friends just wanted to go to California and that is one reason why they joined. ​There is history for every social system and it can explain as to why there are certain aspects that came to be with learning about the history of it.

With my social system which is the military, the institution that has caught my attention is the enlistment process. There is history about the enlistment process that explains why they do certain things. The enlistment process has not always been fair and it still is not.

An urgent problem I see in my social system is the enlistment process. Before we discuss how the enlistment targets minorities, we must explore how other social systems affect this process. The enlistment process requires recruits to be in good physical shape as well as have a high school education. In an article it says that the “ Success in any branch of the Military depends on a good education. A high school diploma is most desirable. Candidates with a GED (General Education Development) certificate can enlist, but some Services may limit their opportunities” (The Department of Defense). This is important to note because minorities tend to either just have a high school education or have a very difficult time trying to finish high school, this has to deal with another social system. It is also important to note that most or if not all social systems affect each other. This social system has evolved throughout history for better and for worse. When we talk about the enlistment process we think it is up to an individual to enlist. While this is true that people do have the choice to enlist at least right now, it is targeting certain minorities which is a problem. When looking at redlining in class I thought to myself where are military recruiting offices located and if redlining pertained to the military enlistment process. Overall, there is a problem with how minorities are being targeted. Race has played many roles in the social systems but it seems to be that in the military it is a huge role in who enlists in the military.

The communities that are especially impacted by this problem are usually impoverished areas. Before we talk about the communities that are impacted by this problem we first have to talk about why they are being targeted. These areas are usually made up of minorities as well as many military recruitment offices. Race plays a big role in impoverished areas in that there are many more minorities such as black and latino families that are in these communities. These areas are usually made up of minorities as well as many military recruitment offices. Many minorities believe that if school is not meant for them or they do not enjoy it then the next best thing to do is join the military. That is why we see many more recruiting offices in impoverished/less wealthy cities because they know that statistically minorities have a hard time trying to go to school or finish school or even want to go to college. In the article by Jorge Mariscal he explains that “Military recruiters are well aware that the economic situation for Latino youth is relatively bleak and have targeted Latino communities as one of the primary objectives for their efforts in coming decades'' this is explicitly targeting minorities especially latino’s in this article. In another article by Parker, Cillufo, and Stepler they say that “​Racial and ethnic minority groups made up 40% of the Defense Department active-duty military in 2015, up from 25% in 1990”. This shows how minorities have increased in the military, and it will possibly keep growing.

Another social system that has a great effect on the targeting of minorities is the housing which is another social system that has race as a big contributor. These impoverished areas tend to be the target of many recruiters. There are many reasons why they are the targets but the real question we should be asking is why are there targets to start with. These impoverished areas are impacted dramatically with many of these young adults going to combat and some of them may not make it back or come back with many problems. As I pointed out in my presentation (powerpoint) I marked the recruiting offices that I saw in my community. As a Latina, joining the military has crossed my mind but I went to schools that never had any recruiters visit us. I was fortunate enough to go to a school that was surrounded by many affluent people, therefore my drive was like all my peers which was to go to college. I lived in a somewhat impoverished area so I had many friends/neighbors who went to the schools that were in these areas. Most if not all my friends considered joining the military and some of them went due to the high presence of military recruiters visiting their schools.

The obstacles that prevent people from addressing this issue could simply be that they believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideology of patriotism poses an obstacle for many minorities. I can personally say that I would feel like I would have to serve my country because they allowed my parents to come here peacefully because they are immigrants. I am sure that many children of immigrants who are minorities may feel this way as well. What many people do not know is how disproportionate it is for minorities more specifically latinos are in dangerous jobs within the military. In the presentation I explained a statistic that I found in Jorge Mariscal’s article, he says “ According to 2001 Department of Defense statistics, Latinos made up 17.7% of the 'Infantry, Gun Crews, and Seamanship' occupations in all the service branches” . When people enlist in the military they hear about all these benefits which is great and all but when we dive back into history, like the Vietnam war we see how many military personnel coming back home did not have those benefits waiting for them when they got back home. Nowadays the government has been good with fulfilling their promises but these promises like healthcare for example, isn’t always the best. The healthcare that many veterans receive is mediocre and frankly isn’t the best. These are some of the problems with enlistment, these promises are kept but they aren’t what these veterans deserve. Many people probably don't know about this obstacle that many veterans have to deal with. Although this is a separate problem it is a consequence of many minorities enlisting and when we think about more minorities enlisting due to these “promises” it could lead to a never ending circle of impoverished people.

The principle of a critical education is most important so we can help people overcome this obstacle. This class for me was very educational and it allowed me to really think in depth of the various social systems around me. Classes like this one should be mandatory in high school, young adults at this age should know how the system affects themselves as individuals as well as how it affects their community. The concepts that we learned in class should be part of this curriculum, such as showing the contradictions of U.S history, and race/class discrepancies in the military. Groups like Project YANO were brought to my attention from Professor Twohig, this group goes to under resourced schools and school children to counter the narrative of patriotism and show them other avenues to chase their dreams. This group is a group that I have personally considered joining because I think spreading this awareness to the youth is a stepping stone for young children to know there are other ways to be successful. Finally, another aspect of education could be educational reform where the state government could invest in under resourced schools and school children to make sure that they don’t fall into the school to military pipeline. Before we get into detail about the state government contributing we should also realize that there are many education cuts, this money that could have been going to schools is going to the military. We should talk to our local government and plead our case. Education is very important and if there were more money put into those under resourced schools then we would not have the dilemma of the military specifically targeting those children who are in under resourced school, which mostly contains minorities.

We can start by addressing teachers, and how this specific group is vital to overcome this obstacle. Let’s go into the basics. Teachers are there to help you make sense of the world. Some teachers unfortunately do not care for their students so they teach them the bare minimum for them to just get through. Teachers should go into what is wrong in our social systems and allow for discussion in how we can change things. I have just described our class, but I think it is the best way to make sense of real world issues. To actually get things done we can go to our local government and express our concern for this problem. For example, back home I have met with local officials in my community to speak about how there is so much trash in the street. The solution we came up with is to put more trash cans outside. This is simple, yes, but we have to understand that we have to educate others in order to get to the end point. This will take time, so we shouldn't lose hope.

People should care so much about this problem because it is just a fragment of what the government has done. The military is part of the government, once you enter the military you have to remember that you don’t belong to yourself anymore but to the government more specifically to the military. Children who are in those under resourced schools are almost always made up of minority groups. These minority groups are made up of low income families. I know this to be true because I am one but I was fortunate enough to not attend these under resourced schools. I am a minority. I come from a low income family, but I was lucky enough to go to amazing schools due to my grades. My husband on the other hand did go to an under resourced school and he wasn’t very fond of school so he thought that the military would be best. If he would've known at a young age that he could have gone to trade school or become an entrepreneur he may have not gone into the military. The military is great but the fact that the military targets minorities to enlist is wrong and should not happen. I will leave you with this quote from project YANO: “Young people don’t have to join the military to learn valuable skills, find adventure, pay for college or serve others” (Project YANO).

Work Cited

Mariscal, Jorge. “Political Affairs.” ​No Where Else to Go: Latino Youth and the Poverty Draft (Print Edition)" Pa​.

Parker, Kim, et al. “6 Facts about the U.S. Military's Changing Demographics.” ​Pew Research Center​, Pew Research Center, 13 Apr. 2017.

“Project on Youth & Non-Military Opportunities (Project YANO).” ​Project on Youth & Non-Military Opportunities (Project YANO),.

“U.S. Department of Defense.” ​U.S. Department of Defense​.

“U.S. Military Demographics.” ​America's Promise​.