Perspectives on Minority Officer Success Rates in the Marine Corps
Published Date: June 1, 1994
Recent controversy over lower rates of minority success in Officer Candidate School (OCS), The Basic School (TBS), and early promotions highlights the need to learn the underlying issues, problems, and mechanisms. In 1992, the Marine Corps began to examine the relatively poor outcomes of minority officers early in their careers. It had observed, for example, that a larger proportion of minorities than whites failed to complete the initial pre-commissioning course at OCS. Efforts to understand this gap continue. The Marines convened a Quality Management Board (QMB) at Quantico to investigate the issue. The QMB commissioned CNA to conduct analyses to determine measurable factors that might explain outcome differences. Although the differential outcomes were reduced, a gap continued to exist even among groups of otherwise equally well qualified individuals. While the Marine Corps has taken positive actions, which seem to be paying off, USMC and CNA efforts continue to understand the gaps. On December 17, 1993, CNA held a conference to probe this topic from many different perspectives.
