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Coast Guard Academy to look like USAFA, West Point and Annapolis

Bill Would Require Nominations at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Bill OK’d to Boost Number of Blacks at Coast Guard School

Diversity is coming to the Coast Guard Academy and Congress will now determine who shows up on indoctrination day. I suppose Congress was tired of excuses and failed initiatives. People have left vitriolic comments on several forums and questioned the direction of the Coast Guard Academy. Some comments have insenuated that there was not a problem with 2.5% African-American enrollment, even though Annapolis, West Point, Air Force have matriculated a far greater percentage of black officers.

When the Associated Press contacted Wilmer Hale, LLP and me, asking for my opinion on the Coast Guard Academy diversity issue, I chose to decline. I recommended that they contact Captain Roderick Walker, my father or Edward Richards. Captain Walker is one of the three black 0-6’s in the Coast Guard; he was denied the Admissions Director position at the Coast Guard Academy.  With the recruiting problems that the Coast Guard Academy has, Captain Walker would have been perfect for the role.  He knows what it takes to graduate from the Academy and he overcame much adversity to do so. He would have opened the doors to potential cadets that instead, choose the D.O.D. academies and Ivy League institutions.

Like the change that we see in Washington, this will surely become a vitriolic topic of discussion at and around the New England College (see 10/24 comment on sidebar).  Then again, I don’t see why Congress voted to intervene in the first place. I mean, there is a black regimental commander. Over four years ago, the MOST QUALIFIED cadet at the academy had to scratch and claw her way to a conditional appointment and then wait a year at the New Mexico Military Institute before being considered as intellectually competent as her classmates. Preparatory schools like New Mexico Military Institute prepares individuals who would have difficulty graduating without that year of preparation. Who would have known that the CGA minority recruiting program would transform one of the least prepared applicants to the class of 2009 into the most qualified cadet in the class of 2010. Perhaps more qualified black cadets would accept appointments if they didnt always have to spend a year in Roswell, New Mexico prior to commencing four years of CGA training and education.  I’d be willing to bet that Congress will find them; next year’s retention rates will reflect their success.

October 24th, 2009 Posted by Web | 100 posts in 100 days | one comment