Research Paper on:
Minorities in the US Military

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
to the periphery with limited access to the opportunities those mainstream members often take for granted. Even the label minority has a negative connotation that implies inferiority and inadequacy.  Therefore, in an effort to escape the social injustice that has unfortunately always been a part of the American system, minority groups in the United States have long sought  more acceptable alternatives. The military or armed forces - the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines - have been the one safe haven for those classes that have typically  resided at the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder. This is a particularly attractive option for minorities because the military is widely considered to be "the most racially integrated  mass organization in the world" (Gropman, 1997, p. 77). It is the worlds leading employer, with over 150,000 new enlistees every year needed for combat, operations, and administrative tasks  (Boyd, 2002, p. 78). According to statistics released by the US Department of Defense (DOD), of the more than 1.3 million military service personnel, minorities and women comprise approximately  273,000 (Boyd, 2002). In every year since the Vietnam War, around 20 percent of those who enlist in the military for  the first time are African Americans, which is "well above the African-American fraction of the population" (Gropman, 1997, p. 77). Although fewer studies have been conducted on Hispanics or  Latinos in the military, sociologists opine that this has represented an important opportunity for them since World War II, since it is more inclusive in comparison to "the standard patterns  of American society" (Leal, 2003, p. 205). The American G.I. Forum, which was a Hispanic veterans group that was initially organized to address benefit issues soon expanded to encompass