Sources: USNA subbed mids to look more diverse

[Measure Man]

Sources: USNA subbed mids to look more diverse

By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 6, 2009 10:11:00 EST

Naval Academy leaders removed two midshipmen from a color guard that performed at the World Series last week because they were white men, and replaced them with a non-white man and a white woman so the academy could present a more “diverse” profile, according to several sources, a move that has reportedly angered mids and alumni.

As it turned out, the color guard still ended up all white because the male replacement forgot parts of his uniform.

Two white, male members of the color guard learned Oct. 28 they were being replaced with a white woman, Midshipman 2nd Class Hannah Allaire, and a non-white man, Midshipman 2nd Class Zishan Hameed, on orders of the school’s administration, according to an internal e-mail message provided to Navy Times by an academy professor. With a national television audience, Naval Academy leadership worried the color guard it planned to send wasn’t diverse enough, the e-mail said.

However, after the color guard arrived in New York for the game Oct. 29, Hameed, whose family is from Pakistan, realized he had left his dress shoes and cover in Annapolis. Midshipman 1st Class Aaron Stroud regained his place and served as a rifleman for the presentation of the colors. Allaire carried the other rifle and the four original members marched with the flags.

Naval Academy spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter responded to questions about the midshipmen replacements in a written statement Thursday after the color guard story was first reported on the blog “CDR Salamander.”

Carpenter quoted a statement from Naval Academy Commandant Capt. Matt Klunder, who said he wanted to respond to questions about why some of the members of the color guard weren’t able to march at the World Series.

Academy officials actually sent an eight-person color guard to the baseball game, Klunder said, but the full squad couldn’t perform after Hameed forgot part of his uniform, because color guards need an even number of members. So it wasn’t that the academy administration yanked members of the color guard because they were white men, it’s that Hameed’s “uniform inventory problem,” as Klunder called it, meant that only six mids could march, instead of eight.

But a Naval Academy press release on the morning of the game said six mids were presenting the colors at the World Series, and identified them all by name. Stroud and the other white male mid who had been cut went to the game, according to the e-mail obtained by Navy Times — fortunate, because Stroud was needed to take Hameed’s place — but they never expected to be able to march that night.

Carpenter said the initial press release included only six names because the public affairs office didn’t know who else would be joining the World Series color guard. When it learned the names of the other two, the public affairs staff decided it would be too late to put out an updated announcement, he said.

The administration’s decision upset many of the mids, according to the e-mail. But after Klunder heard complaints about the situation from alumni and family members, the brigade’s company commanders were ordered to tell their midshipmen they were forbidden from discussing the color guard story with people outside the Yard, according to a source familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it.

The source said current midshipmen and alumni were frustrated that one of them was denied the chance to march at the World Series, despite having earned it, and that the administration was trying to squelch discussion of it.

Carpenter said he didn’t know who told the midshipmen not to talk about the situation.

The Naval Academy color guard, which is a voluntary extracurricular group, has 28 total members from all four classes.

Diversity gone wrong...

[Variable Wind]

Originally Posted by Measure Man

Diversity gone wrong...

Its been wrong in this country for some time now. This is no different than Affirmative Action or any other PC BS.

[ringjamesa]

Best part?

"The administration’s decision upset many of the mids, according to the e-mail. But after Klunder heard complaints about the situation from alumni and family members, the brigade’s company commanders were ordered to tell their midshipmen they were forbidden from discussing the color guard story with people outside the Yard, according to a source familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it."

Nothing like ordering a cover-up after the story hits the pres....morons...

[CommunityEditor]

Sources: USNA subbed mids to look more diverse (http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/1...guard_110509w/)

[bravohotel43]

Originally Posted by ringjamesa

Best part?

"The administration’s decision upset many of the mids, according to the e-mail. But after Klunder heard complaints about the situation from alumni and family members, the brigade’s company commanders were ordered to tell their midshipmen they were forbidden from discussing the color guard story with people outside the Yard, according to a source familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss it."

Nothing like ordering a cover-up after the story hits the pres....morons...

It's a combination of things. I guarantee none of those midshipmen knew the full story of what was going on, and spreading hearsay is going to do more damage then good. Just look at the coverage of the Fort Hood shootings if you want a good example of why you don't let anyone but the PAO release information.

That being said, the PAO is doing a bad job if they are covering things up, because taxpayers deserve to know if a decision like this was made. If there is no coverup, then they're doing an even worse job because they're sure making it look like one.

[Measure Man]

Originally Posted by bravohotel43

It's a That being said, the PAO is doing a bad job if they are covering things up, because taxpayers deserve to know if a decision like this was made. If there is no coverup, then they're doing an even worse job because they're sure making it look like one.

PAO are not reporters...they give the "official AF version" of events. Taxpayers should not depend on them...

That is sort of like depending on the Whitehouse Press Secretary for news and information about how the President is doing...they are spin doctors, not factual reporters.

[Shrike]

Originally Posted by Measure Man

Diversity gone wrong...

I always got a kick out of the Airman Magazine covers. If they had to show more than two or three airmen on the cover it's like they had a diversity flow chart that they had to follow. I imagine the conversations went something like:
Airman Magazine Editor: Okay, we need five airmen. What do you got for me?
Photographer: I've got a Navajo, an Ecuadorian, someone from Dublin, an African, and an Indian.
AME: The Dubliner - male or female?
P: Male.
AME: Why are you wasting my time?!? We've already got the token white male. We can get away with two whites, but only if one is female. Are you dumb? What's the Indian?
P: She's a female, as well as the bla...the African-American.
AME: SWEET, that's a PC Coup! Is the Navajo female? Because that would be so awesome!
P: Nope, he's a he.
AME: Damn. How tall is he?
P: About 5' 10". Why?
AME: Crap. Our white guy is 6' 1'. It would be nice if our white wasn't towering over everyone else. Maybe you can have him squat down a little, or put him at the back a few feet away from everyone else?
P: Uhhh...sure. But our Ecuadorian is 6' 2".
AME: I could kiss you in an un-erotic way! When you pose everyone, make sure the white guy is off to the side. We don't want him at the middle as if he's the center of attention and everyone else is marginalized.
P: Um, boss? Isn't this all kind of ridiculous, seeing that 80.5% of the USAF is male and 73.3% is white?
AME: You're fired.

[Variable Wind]

Damn I missed you Shrike.

[Shrike]

Originally Posted by Variable Wind

Damn I missed you Shrike.

.

[bravohotel43]

Originally Posted by Measure Man

PAO are not reporters...they give the "official AF version" of events. Taxpayers should not depend on them...

That is sort of like depending on the Whitehouse Press Secretary for news and information about how the President is doing...they are spin doctors, not factual reporters.

And that is the unfortunate lie facing every military PAO today. We are not supposed to be spin doctors, and our training emphasizes that fact. However, too many officers trying to further their careers would rather suck up to their commander and put a spin on what news comes out, rather then following the rule of "Maximum disclosure, minimum delay." Sure, we're supposed to put out a command message with everything we say, and in that sense we always try to put our service in a positive light. But we're also supposed to put out the bad news, like that at the last minute some higher up made a bone-headed decision that was nothing more than reverse racism.

That being said, the more I think about this, the more I'm entirely questioning the outrage over this. Anyone who has seen a Marine Corps commercial in the past 15 years has to notice that there's this "forced diversity," and neither they nor the ad agency is even slightly apologetic about it. Hell, an article about the new ad, which had a white, a black, and a hispanic Marine, mentioned specifically someone saying they wanted to make sure they had the diversity of America or something like that.