The challenges with improving the quality of life for military families of color is not well understood. Blue Star Families has recently started a campaign called the Racial Equality Initiative. Please listen to this short podcast about it.
A Navy message to all sailors and Marines outlines some of the Biden administration’s thinking regarding combating radicalism within the services, following Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin‘s call for a stand-down throughout the military on “extremism.”
“Extremist conduct is contrary to good order and discipline, and erodes the faith and trust of American citizens and those sailors, Marines and civilian personnel affected by it,” according to an “AlNav,” a message to all Navy Department personnel from acting Navy Secretary Thomas W. Harker.
The Feb. 12 memo states that ill-defined “extremism,” “supremacy” and gang-related activity are prohibited for all service members.
By John Konrad
When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, it faced a shortage of merchant mariners. With supplies in desperate needs overseas a massive sealift would require not only a huge fleet of cargo ships, but the seafarers to sail them. This opened the door a bit to black mariners for a range of shipboard jobs. One of the most dramatic stories of this era involved shipmaster Hugh Mulzac.
Born in the British West Indies in 1886, Mulzac went to sea after high school, sailing on British vessels. He later attended the Nautical School in Swansea, in the United Kingdom, earning a mate’s license. He sailed as a ship’s officer in World War I, and came to the United States, becoming a citizen in 1918.
By 1920, Mulzac passed the examination as a U.S. shipmaster, but there were no shipboard berths available to a black captain. Although he held a master’s license, which qualified him to be a ship’s captain, he worked for the next 20 years mostly in the steward’s department of various shipping lines. This was the only shipboard work he could find, and he became an expert in food service management.
“It’s bad enough having one individual ask that question,” Haney said. “But what hurt the most was that tribe he was with said nothing to the contrary of that kind of thing.”
Haney, 65, went on to become one of the first Black four-star admirals in Navy history, serving as the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the U.S. Strategic Command, where he oversaw nuclear weapons before retiring in 2017.
Elizabeth City State University alumnus, Coast Guard Capt. Warren Judge, has been honored with the 2021 Black Engineer of the Year Stars and Stripes Award (BEYA). The BEYA celebrates achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
“I am truly humbled and honored by this award. Being a public servant, this award is for the teams and team members, mentors and mentees who have supported me throughout the years,” said Capt. Judge. “I am truly blessed.”
The Stars and Stripes award is one of the most prestigious and competitive honors in science, engineering, and technology management. Less than 15 individuals have been honored as Stars and Stripes award winners, according to the Coast Guard’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence Service Center commanding officer, Capt. Rusty Dash.