REMAIN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RACIAL AND GENDER PROGRESS
By Captain Jason Birch, U.S. Navy

Conversations about race are unnatural to many in special operations, but the flood of protests following George Floyd’s 25 May death in Minneapolis has sparked an uncomfortable discourse for many in our nation. Racist and sexist comments made in June by a U.S. Naval Academy graduate—a retired Navy captain—exposed how  important these conversations are for the Navy. His long-hidden sentiments struck a nerve with me, along with many in our proud Naval Academy alumni community.  These views held by a community leader call into question whether there is an undercurrent of sexism—or particularly racism—within the Navy and within the special operations community, of which I am a member.

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At age 15, Milton Troy III got a taste of his future. It happened under the hood of his first car, a gift from his dad — a $100 Mercury Bobcat, white with a baby-blue interior.

“It was the ugliest car I ever saw,” Troy remembers. “It had a hole in the floor, and the door never closed right. It wouldn’t go 20 miles without overheating, so I always had to carry water and anti-freeze. Once on a date, I had to stop a couple of times driving to the movie theater.”

Troy’s father wisely understood that a needy Bobcat would give his son some basic training in planning and preparation.

The lesson served Troy well.

Today, he’s in charge of all support-related training for the U.S. Navy.