US forces study to look at growth of minorities

The Brookings Institution will study the racial balance in the US armed forces, Monitor correspondent Stephen Webbe reports. "The decision to go to an all-volunteer army after the Vietnam war carried with it the risk that military ranks might be filled by the poor, uneducated, and minorities," a foundation spokesman says. "While black enlistment in the conscripted army stood at about 12 percent, blacks now comprise over a third of the volunteer force, and their numbers are increasing."

Martin Binkin, a senior Brookings fellow, will assess the effect of this on the armed forces. The study is funded by the Defense Department, the Ford Foundation, and the Edna McConnell Foundation.