Gender based violence (GBV) is being used against women across the world.  Intimidations, including murder, rape and acid thrown in the face are used as weapons of war.  The status of women is an indicative barometer of the stability of a region. This study will examine GBV as a U.S. and global security issue.  It seeks to enhance the understanding and awareness of GBV for operational planning and for dealing with circumstances where the Congolese, African Union, U.S. and its allies must confront violations of international law, including human rights abuses.  As threats from terrorism continue to evolve regional instability in the DRC is a peril to both Africa and the world at large.  The DRC is a mineral and oil rich country of which trade in the former have created a cycle of conflict resulting in an epidemic of GBV.  This project will identify comprehensive strategies to address GBV in order to prepare local women in the DRC and globally as future peace builders. Investing in what is one of the world’s greatest untapped resources, women, is critical not only to conflict resolution but to the progress needed for a 21st century Africa and world.
 

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While African Americans are well represented in the nation's armed services overall, their numbers appear to be thinning in the army officer corps. Colonel Kendrick's study, based on intensive focus groups and surveys, examines what black officers themselves perceive to be causing this problem. Among their serious concerns are apparent inequities in career-enhancing job assignments, disparities in ROTC instruction at minority versus majority college campuses, and mentoring arrangements that stress white officers' needs. Kendrick recommends that the army equalize its education standards for all instructors, improve diversity training, and develop better systems for evaluating officer assignments.

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Black enlistments in the military have declined to their lowest level in more than three decades. The downturn is a major problem for the Pentagon, which is trying to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps. Absent a recession, which would reduce civilian employment opportunities for enlistment-age youth, the only way to enlarge the all-volunteer force (AVF) is to increase the rewards of service – that is, to raise pay, benefits and bonuses. Such a course would increase the Pentagon’s budget, which has nearly tripled during the past seven years to more than $600 billion annually.

A senior research fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies examines the reasons captains leave the Army and the potential solutions that could address the concens of captains and ensure that junior officers continue to develop at a high-level. For the past several years there has been much discussion about the numbers of captains leaving the Army. Numerous reasons have been suggested and many surveys have been completed.

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As the senior leadership of the Army has emphasized on several occasions, diversity is key to ensuring a strong and organizationally effective military. While one could make a strong case that the U.S. Army is one of the most diverse organizations in the United States, further efforts are required to maximize the positive impacts of a diverse workforce. To that end, this paper provides options for managing diversity—specifically, racial diversity—at the strategic level in order to enhance the organizational effectiveness of the U.S. Army.

This paper encompasses several parts. First, it provides contextual information about historical and contemporary issues pertaining to diversity in the Army. Special attention is paid to the distinction between equal opportunity and diversity, including differences in methodology and implementation. Next, the paper examines a critical area in which diversity has not been fully achieved—black representation in the senior ranks—and examines strategies for addressing that problem. It should be noted that this paper intentionally focuses on black officers rather than other minority groups. The reasoning behind this decision is as follows: I believe that if we develop solutions to improve the situation for the largest minority group within the Army (blacks), those solutions will also benefit other minorities, including the second-largest minority group, Hispanics. Emphasis is also placed on the combat arms branches, which are the predominant pipeline to the senior ranks of the Army.

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Hispanics-Americans are now the fastest growing group in the United States. According to Census projections, they will constitute the largest minority group in the nation in less than a decade. In Fact, they would count as the largest group today if the population of Puerto Rio were included. Among youth, ages 18 and under, Hispanic-Americans already make up the largest minority group in the country. By 2035, one if five Americans will be a Hispanics-American.

Leaders within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) have voiced the military's goal of "looking" like the nation it defends. Our U.S. Army also places a high priority on and commitment to achieving true diversity within its ranks. While it is widely acknowledged that diversity is important to the military, directly relating to readiness and morale, Hispanic-Americans are still critically underrepresented in the U.S. Army's officer corps.

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This research report conducted by a Senior Military Fellow working at  the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies examines the reasons why an increasing number of America's youth are saying "no" to enlisting in the Army and to provide recommendations on what is needed to change that trend.  The research validated the importance of influencers to overall recruiting efforts and led to specific recommendations to cause influencers to be more inclined to promote the Army to their children, relatives, students, and friends.

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