The U.S. Army Is Laying Off Black Majors at a Disproportionate Rate

The U.S. Army’s retrenchment of 550 majors is hitting black officers considerably harder than those from other ethnic groups.

Almost a tenth of the army’s black majors are being let go, while the same proportion for white majors is only 5.6% and 8% for Hispanics, reports USA Today.

The Army intends to cut its force from 513,000 to 490,000 soldiers by the end of 2015 and has already culled about 1,000 captains from its ranks. Bad performance evaluations have weighed heavily in retrenchment decisions

Combat veterans have been hit especially hard with nearly 9 out of 10 of the dismissed having at least two years combat experience.

[USA Today]