Hispanic Soldiers Die in Greater Numbers in Iraq

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snip

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while Latinos make up 9.5 percent of the actively enlisted forces, they are over-represented in the categories that get the most dangerous assignments -- infantry, gun crews and seamanship -- and make up over 17.5 percent of the front lines.

These worries have been exacerbated during the recent conflict in Iraq. As of Aug. 28, Department of Defense (DOD) statistics show a casualty rate of more than 13 percent for people of Hispanic background serving in Iraq.

snip

Another tactic suspected of targeting Hispanics is an executive order signed by U.S. President George W. Bush in July 2002, expediting naturalization for aliens and non-citizen nationals who serve in active-duty status during the administration's ''war on terrorism''.

snip

Department officials strenuously denied that the order was targeted at the Hispanic population.

more: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0922-02.htm

Not targeting Hispanics? Yeah right. :eyes:

[Cocoa]

1. I've been surprised by the number of Spanish names

It's kind of strange, you see soldiers on TV and you think all the troops are from Alabama, but then you see casualty lists and it looks like they're all from Texas or New Mexico.

[smallprint]

2. it's easier to hide the casualty rate

when the soldiers are from other countries, too-- it doesn't seem like so many Americans are dying.

[salin]

3. This should be a much bigger issue

than how it is treated in the the media (or even our board). Makes me think of the old draft era where it was much more likely for those not "The Fortunate Son" to go off to war. Different methods - same results.

Not mentioned in the article is that the ROTC high school recruiting efforts - include getting lists of all C and below average students - and only going after those students. Makes sense - less likely to go to college, less likely to be able to afford to go to college (due to the strong correlation between high school performance and socio-economic status), and in a stagnant economy - probably not having access to decent paying jobs. That - is a captive audience.

[DealsGapRider]

4. Ridiculous statement

"Not mentioned in the article is that the ROTC high school recruiting efforts - include getting lists of all C and below average students - and only going after those students."

Um, sorry, but this is pure fantasy. My brother is a recruiter and he said this simply doesn't happen. Recruiters send information to high school students in general, but they don't single out below average students.

Look, the enlisted ranks are always going to be disproportionately made up of lower income people. And many minorities are lower income. There is nothing unseemly about this. Indeed, the military offers an invaluable means of upward mobility to thousands of people. What precisely would you change to make the racial composition of the armed forces more pleasing to you? Specifics?

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. The military meant upward mobility for minorities

back in the G.I. Bill days. I doubt they would be flocking to it in droves these days if they had other opportunities. Besides, it doesn't explain why they are over-represented on the front lines.

[DealsGapRider]

7. Minorities are not over-represented in the front lines...

...whites are.

http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030121/4794964s.htm

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9. that article does not even mention latinos

nor asians. it uses the under-representation of blacks as an argument that ALL minorities are underrepresented. this is clearly false, as shown by the article i posted.

[DealsGapRider]

10. I didn't say it did.

I posted it in response to the post above that said that MINORITIES - not Hispanics - are disproportionately represented on the front lines. There's no evidence that Hispanics are. The article from Common Dreams is useless. First, Common Dreams is a silly, journalistically unsound rag that propagates ridiculous far-left propaganda. It's worthless as a source. I read one of their articles not long ago blaming the famine in North Korea on the US to give you an idea of where they're coming from. Second, they cite Pew Hispanic Center numbers to back up their claim that Hispanics are disproportionately represented in the combat arms, not hard DoD numbers.

The question to ask is, what is the point of this thread? Let's assume for the sake of argument that Hispanics ARE disproportionately represented in the combat arms. So what? Someone had to be...unless you think the only acceptable composition would be one where all the racial groups in the military correspond precisely with the population as a whole. The whole topic is dumb.

[smallprint]

12. This topic is not dumb. It is very important.

1.If Hispanic soldiers are dying in proportions greater than their representation in the armed forces, then that needs to be pointed out. They deserve recognition for their sacrifice.

2.You don't like Common Dreams. Well, they didn't write the article. Inter Press Service did. Common Dreams is just a web site with links. They have nothing to do with the actual article.

3.It is entirely possible that BOTH whites AND Hispanics are over-represented on front lines and in casualties. However, Hispanics-- in particular non-citizens-- are regularly discriminated against in the US. Thus, there is the implication that they MAY be discriminated against in the armed forces as well. This article strongly suggests that. Is it conclusive? Not necessarily. But it is worth serious consideration.

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. CommonDreams was not the only one to post the information.

A latino group did also at the beginning of the Iraq squirmish. They brought up the 17% serving at the front lines. In addition, this topic is very relevant since it only proves, once again, that minorities are being used as cannon fodder while whites get the better assignments. "Disparate Impact." Look it up.

[salin]

16. what is the point of the thread

to discuss a posted article, perhaps?

[salin]

15. I heard this

second hand from a high school counseling office. Maybe some folks don't follow the same standards.

Indeed I think it is as much a statement about the economy as everything else - harder to pay for college and fewer decent paying jobs.

[DuctapeFatwa]

6. This will not be a problem for the affluent voting class

There is a growing disenchantment with the increasing number of non-European ethnics in the US, and all policies that help to reverse this trend will be welcomed by the well-to-do sector.

[pbeal]

8. junior NCO's over represented as well

If you enlist in the Military and are deployed to a war zone there is a chance that you will be killed, The Chance increases if you are in combat arms, and increases again if your a junior NCO or junior officer in combat arms, and in each step you volunteer, to enlist, to be combat arms, and to be a leader. And like it or not our military doesn't choose which wars it fights that is done by our civilian leadership.

Every Solider knows this and we do have a all volunteer military. I know(from personal experience) that for a lot of young people the military is the only choice economically that they have. Not everyone wants to be a clerk, cook or mechanic(I didn't). Every Solider and Marine in a combat arms MOS volunteered for that job.

Speaking as an experienced Junior NCO you don't want a solider who is afraid to do his job, you don't want a solider who does not want to be there.

Another little statistical tidbit African Americans make up close to 33% of the armed services but only about 7% of combat arms.

The ethnic makeup of the different MOS's don't mean anything. Our Military is still mostly made up of rural white southern males I don't see anyone on this board very alarmed by that.

[bigtree]

11. kick

n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. Statistically speaking...

Your white soldiers are not represented in direct proportion to the population numbers in the U.S.A. And as you go up the chain of command, you find them far over-represented.