Career Communications Group CEO Tyrone Taborn, Technology Awareness Program Chairman Ted Childs, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.


Gen. George Casey, Army Chief of Staff, spoke at the Stars and Stripes event at the 23rd BEYA STEM Conference.


William Swanson, the CEO of Raytheon, suggested to Tyrone Taborn that there should be a rotation system that allows each service to host Stars and Stripes.


Americans to choose careers in sup- ply and logistics, in the Judge Advo- cate General’s Corps, or in other, more technology-connected support roles such as maintenance and engineering. Combat roles are where the action is at, after all, and officers with combat experience get the lion’s share of the top ranks, espe- cially at the four-star level. But many black officer-candidates, whether they came into the service through ROTC or the academies, look forward to the years after they have completed their military service, planning to gain skills they can use in civilian life. Looking at it that way, the analysts say, it is easy to understand why so few blacks wind up in the “pipe- line” to the top ranks. That explanation wasn’t good enough when President Jimmy Carter named Clifford Alexander the first black secretary of the Army in 1977. Presented with a list of candidates for promotion that included no blacks, Alexander turned it back, demanding that the promotions board look more closely at the records of the eligible African American colonels, and that brought big changes. Disregard- ing the bias toward combat experience, Alexander noted that many blacks had “served with distinction,” and were as deserving as their white comrades. As a May 2010 article in The Root by USBE&IT Contributing Editor Michael


www.blackengineer.com


Fletcher reported, by the time Alexander left office in 1981, the Army had 30 black general officers.


The explanation that African Ameri- cans choose non-combat roles rather than vying for posts commanding elite combat troops–about one in five black officers serve in combat jobs, about half


Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz delivered the keynote address at Stars and Stripes on February 19, 2010.


When can a banquet such as Stars and Stripes, held as part of the annual celebration of the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA), become an event with critical importance?


the percentage for non-blacks, Fletcher found—is still bogus to Alexander. “The only thing that is special is too much attention being paid to whites for promotions,” Alexander said in that May Root article. “It is time to reemphasize the message of equal opportunity.” Thus, in addition to its network- ing role, the Stars and Stripes Banquet also helps to reemphasize that message, bringing prominence to the rise of black


officers to flag rank and Senior Executive Service level in civilian roles across the military services. During one recent ban- quet, for example, a black Army general pointed to a couple of Marine generals walking into the hall as this writer looked on. “Look at that,” the Army officer said, standing beyond hearing range of the two Marines. “You never used to see that. I’m proud of them.” But as Tyrone


Taborn noted, Stars and Stripes gains the attention not only of African Americans in the military, but also of the commanders at the very top, such as Admiral Mullen, and of the civilian leaders of the Pentagon’s mili- tary departments. Even


President Barack Obama recognized a recent event with a letter of commemora- tion, delivered and read to the attendees by the Chief White House Usher, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon. With all the brass around, active-duty


and retired—spearheaded by Gen. Wilson and VADM Davis—it’s a glittering show. And at the end of the evening, a good time has been had by all. 


USBE&IT I WINTER 2010 49


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92