There's no question that minorities and the less affluent serve in the military in disproportionate numbers, partly because they find military wages and benefits more alluring than do middle-class whites with numerous other opportunities. Currently, for example, blacks comprise 22 percent of the military's enlisted force but 14 percent of the 18- to 24-year-old population.

But according to a report in USA Today, front-line troops are disproportionately white. "Of the Army's 45,586 enlisted combat infantryman, 10.6 percent are black," the newspaper reports. About 2 percent of Air Force pilots and 2.5 percent of Navy pilots are black. "Blacks, especially in the enlisted ranks, tend to be disproportionately drawn to non-combat fields such as unit administration and communications. They are underrepresented in jobs shooting rifles or dropping bombs."