03 November, 2005

who can blame them?

The number of black enlisted troops has declined significantly in three military branches from 2000 through 2004 — by 15% in the Army, 23% in the Marines and 11% in the Air Force. The Navy's number fell only slightly. The overall size of all four branches has stayed roughly the same.

A major reason for the trend is a sharp drop in blacks joining the military, according to a Pentagon analysis conducted in response to questions from USA TODAY. During the four-year period, African-American recruits in all four services fell nearly a third, from 38,034 in 2000 to 26,170 in 2004.

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