d retirement and pensions.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Gilpatric reminded the services in April
1962 that the Truman order applied to the reserves and called on the
under secretaries to integrate the all-black and all-white units "as
rapidly as is consistent with military effectiveness."[20-76] He also
wanted a review of black assignments for the purpose of removing the
disproportionate number of Negroes in pools "consistent with the
military requirements and the skills of the personnel involved."

[Footnote 20-76: Memo, Dep SecDef for Under Secys, 3
Apr 62, sub: Compliance With E.O. 9981 in the Army,
Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Reserves, in SD
files. The secretary's memo was distributed to the
commands; see, for example, Memo, TAG for CINCARPAC
et al., 15 May 62 (TAG 291.2/15 May 62).]

A defense manpower team surveyed the reserves in November 1962. It
tried to soften the obvious implication of its racial statistics by
pointing out that the all-black units were limited to two Army areas,
and action had already been taken by the Third Army and Fourth Army
commanders to integrate the six units as soon as possible. The team
also announced initiation of a series of administrative safeguards
against discrimination in the enlistment and assignment of men to
drilling units. As for the all-white units, the reviewers cautioned
that discrimination was not necessarily involved since Negroes
constituted a relatively small proportion of the strength of the
reserves--4.8 percent of the Army, 4.4 percent of the Air Force, and
an estimated 3.2 percent of the Navy. Furthermore, the data neither
proved nor disproved allegations of discrimination since the degree to
which individuals volunteered, the skills and aptitudes they
possessed, and the needs of the services were all factors in the
assignment and use of the men involved.[20-77]

[Footnote 20-77: Office of the ASD (M), Review of
Compliance With E.O. 9981 in the Army, Navy, Air
Force, and Marine Corps Reserves, 7 Nov 62, copy in
CMH.]

Pleas of an absence of legal authority in regard to the National Guard
and generalized promises of racial reform in the reserves were not
going to still the complaints of the civil rights organizations nor
discourage the interest of their allies in the