Title: Latinos in the military: High-ranking officer positions out of reach
Headings: Latinos are fastest growing population in US military, but higher ranks remain out of reach
Latinos are fastest growing population in US military, but higher ranks remain out of reach
The military has historically been one of the most diverse institutions in the U.S. But Latinos aren't reaching high-ranking officer positions.
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Content: Officer Candidate School generally lasts about nine to 17 weeks. Direct commissions are given to people who are already practicing a trade in their civilian life and can pick up a specialty as an officer in the military, such as doctors or nurses. Many Latinos simply don’t have enough education to become an officer. Hispanic students are the second largest ethnic group in U.S. public schools after white students, but only about 8% of Latinos receive a post-secondary degree, according to the Congressional Research Service. Language and economic barriers, as well as discrimination, have historically contributed to the Latino achievement gap in U.S. education. And that affects who gets promoted in the military, Castro said. “If you don’t have a large pool of male Hispanics who have college degrees then you don’t have many commissioned officers,” Castro said. One bright spot is the growing education levels of Hispanic women in the U.S. The number of Latinas who graduated from a higher education grew about 70% from 2000 to 2017, largely outpacing Millennials Latinos, a demographic that saw a 56% growth in college graduations, according to a report on U.S. Latinas by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Comcast NBCUniversal published in November. However, women are less likely to enlist and stay in the military to further pursue their careers as commissioned officers. According to a 2017 report by the CNA, a research organization in Arlington, Virginia, women of all ethnic backgrounds only make up about 18% of the officer corps and account for less than 7% of the highest leadership positions.