Military Struggles to Recruit Hispanics

[livvy]

Military Struggles to Recruit Hispanics

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Feb 8, 2009 8:52:30 EST

The military and Congress want the ranks to roughly mirror the racial and ethnic makeup of America. But the services can’t seem to recruit enough Hispanics — even though that community tends to view the military positively.

A new study by the Rand Corp. think tank says that’s because Hispanics, more than other racial and ethnic groups, typically come up short in high school graduation rates, test scores and in meeting military weight standards.

As such, many young Hispanics fall into the military’s second tier of most desirable recruit candidates — below high school graduates who are physically fit and score in the top three categories on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. The best-qualified Hispanics, Rand said, have excellent civilian job prospects, making the military a tougher sell.

As a result, their numbers in the military lag behind the percentage of Hispanics in the U.S. population, the study says.

But at the same time, polls show that Hispanic youth have a strong affinity for the military — and once in the service, they, like black recruits, have consistently higher retention and faster promotion speeds than their white counterparts, the study says. The exception is in the Navy, where whites are promoted faster than Hispanics.

more...

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/02/army_hispanics_013109w/%2e

[Captain Hilts]

1. Yes. The high school drop out rate and the language barrier keep it disporportionately low. nt

[Spangle]

2. Language barrier?

I don't understand why there would be one. IF they were born here, they should know English by the time they are old enough to join up. Not every Hispanic just got off the boat. Only those not born here, should this even be an issue.

Just because a person is Hispanic, doesn't mean they are not able to learn and speak English.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Passing the tests to get in. nt

[Spangle]

4. ???

So how do we get to where more Hispanics are able to join the military??

[Captain Hilts]

5. I think we need to address why so many drop out. We can't lose major chunks of the population...

to something systemic like this. In the southwest, evidently, the drop out rate is close to 50%. That's just not acceptable.

And, I think, the Army might want to consider having an English-language camp before boot camp.

It's sounds strange, but the US military has been one of this country's most successful social welfare programs. They know how to teach people skills, discipline, etc. Weird.

[Spangle]

6. Which leads back to what I said

Those that are born and raised in the US, this shouldn't be an issue. I"m not an English only person. However, we have programs to teach immigrants how to speak English. That includes their kids. When an immigrant has a child here, they (parents) should make an effort for their child to learn English. The same as all skills a parent teaches in order for their child to survive in this world.

Second, third, and fourth generation should not be showing up at school not knowing how to speak English. If they do, it should be ranked as child abuse. No parent should put their kids through that. It's wrong!

It has become the practice to teach Spanish only in the home. With the idea that if their child must speak English, then it's the schools job and responsibility to do so. You end up with a whole group of children that is starting out way behind everyone else. And the issue isn't addressed, out of fear of being offensive.

Sorry, when it comes to educating kids.. The educational system has had to be offensive. Whites was offended at one point at the thought they must share space with blacks.

Schools can not keep getting kick backs from the government, if they keep a kid in 'special programs.' That is what happened to some students. These programs don't seem to be working. And there needs to be more encouragement to send children to school all ready speaking English.

Except for those kids with foreign born parents, whos parents where not able to teach their child even basic English, all other students should come to school at least knowing the basics and expecting to stay in an English only class. So from day 1, all kids are taught equally.

How can anyone expect these kids to have the same education, when they spend much of their education time in 'special' language classes. Of course they are going to be behind and not able to keep up in High School.

Your boot camp idea would work on the language issue. But not help them make up the education they missed out on.