![]() ![]() Her decision - to move her son to Florida to live with other family members while he attended high school - didn’t come easily. “Once was from an undercover cop who didn’t identify himself, and it got to a point where I had to make a decision.” “My son was racially profiled in our neighborhood where we lived - twice,” Moss said. She said only a few months went by before she became concerned about the safety of her son, who was 13 at the time. “But we went because it was going to be great for my career,” she said. “I remember originally saying, ‘I do not want to go to Mississippi, I do not hear great things about that area when it comes to my family,’” said Moss, who is Black. But almost a decade ago she was a single mom trying to make her way up the ranks, when she received orders for a Permanent Change of Station, or “PCS,” that gave her pause. But that’s not because she didn’t want to.Ĭurrently, she runs the Racial Equity and Inclusion Initiative for Blue Star Families. Retired First Sergeant Carlandra “CT” Moss said she never turned down an assignment in her 24-year Army career. “This comprehensive analysis will not only identify the barriers that exist for minority service members, but also the root causes of such barriers so that leadership can take effective action,” Major Charlie Dietz said in a statement. The Defense Department also said it’s currently conducting its own study of diversity patterns and an analysis of the paths - and roadblocks - to leadership. “Decisions in all of them affect overall military readiness and retention.”Ī spokesperson for the Department of Defense did not comment directly on the findings in the Blue Star Families report, but said in a statement that the department’s efforts to improve diversity and inclusion are ongoing, including at the officer level. ![]() ![]() “Obviously, these are huge conversations,” Akin said. Some of those who turned down relocation orders reported consequences in the form of unfair negative performance reviews or opportunities for career advancement that disappeared. “We had 46% who consider racial and ethnic discrimination when submitting base or installation preferences,” Akin said, adding that these decisions could have long term implications on their careers. “Active duty family respondents of color are making very big decisions about military life, based on perceptions of racism and fear for their family’s safety,” said Jennifer Akin, Director of Policy and Social Impact Research at Blue Star Families. Most respondents said the military has had an overall positive effect on them, but many also reported outright discrimination like racial slurs and fear for their safety both on and off base. The study by Blue Star Families is the latest effort to fill in the knowledge gap about the impacts of diversity in the military, and it’s one of a handful in recent years that explores how race and discrimination affect the everyday lives of service members and their families. Almost a third of the military families in a recent survey said they had turned down duty assignments over concerns about the racial climate at the new installation - even though they knew it could hurt their careers. ![]()
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