We All Wear Green, We All Bleed Red, There is No Difference: Race-conscious Admissions Policies Have No Place at Our Military Academies

Abstract

While the thousands upon thousands of dedicated military officers do not share the same skin color, what they do—and must—share is something vastly more important; it is a dedication to our Nation, its Constitution, and a willingness to put their lives on the line to protect and defend the Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of every American. This includes the safety and well-being of every sailor, soldier, airman, and Marine without considering anyone’s race or ethnicity. That should be the only test for every officer entrusted with protecting our national security.

If we have learned nothing else from our history surrounding race, we should have learned this: dividing any collection of individuals by race— whether it be a platoon, a battalion, an airwing, a Corps of Cadets, or a Brigade of Midshipmen—and assigning benefits or assessing penalties to the resulting groups is fundamentally destructive. Perpetuating racial favoritism and its opposite, racial discrimination, does not heal a society; it poisons it. Policies that focus on race do not lead to a cohesive and effective military; they undermine it. Such policies have no place in our military.