nlistment
ratios in 1949, just as they attributed the modest increases since
that time to the effects of the services' equal treatment and
opportunity programs. In the judgment of these analysts, racial
differences in representation since the Truman order, and indeed most
of the other discrepancies between black and white servicemen, could
usually be explained by the sometimes sharp difference in aptitude
test results (_Table 14_). A heritage of the Negro's limited, often
segregated and inferior education and his economic and related (p. 523)
environmental handicaps, low aptitude scores certainly explained the
contrast in disqualification rates (_Tables 15 and 16_). By 1962 fully
half of all Negroes--as compared to 8 percent of all whites--failed to
qualify for service under minimum mental test standards. In some
southern states, the draftee rejection rate for Negroes exceeded 80
percent.

Table 13--Black Strength in the Armed Forces for Selected Years
(In Percentage)

Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force
Enlisted Enlisted Enlisted Enlisted
Year Men Officers Men Officers Men Officers Men Officers

1949 12.4 1.8 4.7 0.0 2.1 0.0 5.1 0.6
1954 13.7 3.0 3.6 0.1 6.5 0.1 8.6 1.1
1962 12.2 3.2 5.2 0.2 7.6 0.2 9.2 1.2

Table 14--Estimated Percentage Distribution of Draft-Age Males in U.S.
Population by AFQT Groups (Based on Preinduction Examination, 1959-1962)

Group White Nonwhite
I 11.8 0.3
II 31.3 2.6
III 31.9 15.0
IV 19.0 40.1
V 6.0 42.0

Table 15--Rate of Men Disqualified for Service in 1962
(In Percentage)

Cause White Nonwhite
Medical and other 21.8 10.1
Mental test failure 8.4 50.6
Total 30.2 60.7

Table 16--Rejection Rates for Failure to Pass
Armed Forces Mental Test, 1962

Failed Mental Test
Number
Area Examined Number Percent
Grand total, Continental United States 286,152 64,536 22.6
Total, white 235,678 36,204 15.4
Total, black