Report: U.S. Military Leadership Lacks Diversity at Top | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS

Report: U.S. Military Leadership Lacks Diversity at Top | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS: For decades, the U.S. military has worked to create a force that mirrors the racial and ethnic diversity of the American population. Now, a congressionally charted commission has reported that while the Pentagon has achieved that goal in the lower ranks, the story is much different the higher you go up the officer ladder.

According to the report, 'the demographic composition of the officer corps is far from representative of the American population and ... officers are much less demographically diverse than the enlisted troops they lead.' The Military Leadership Diversity Commission also found that 'with some exceptions, racial and ethnic minorities and women are underrepresented among senor noncommissioned officers'. (Read the full report.)

The report says that while non-Hispanic whites make up 66 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise 77 percent of active duty officers. Similarly, blacks account for 12 percent of the U.S population, but represent just 8 percent of active duty officers. When it comes to Hispanic Americans, which make up 15 percent of the U.S. population, they number only 5 percent of the officer corps.