Older Military Reverse Discrimination News

Officers Challenge Affirmative Action Policy (08/23/99)  PAY site.
          "The Army's affirmative action promotion policies have taken another hit in federal court with four field-grade officers challenging the legality of "equal opportunity" instructions used by basic-branch colonels and lieutenant colonels boards over the past decade.

          "The officers, three regulars and one reservist, variously were passed over by active component Army Competitive Category and reserve component Army Promotion List boards that met from 1992 to 1999.

          "Lt. Cols. Robert Siegert, Michael Ashe, Jay Jupiter and Maj. James Waldeck, claim in a suit filed Aug. 11 with the U.S. District Court in Washington that portions of instructions used by the boards violated their equal protection and due process rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

          Earlier this summer, Army Secretary Louis Caldera approved a generous settlement pertaining to an identical lawsuit by Lt. Cols. G. Allan Sirmans and Ronald Buchholz. As part of the settlement in their favor, Sirmans and Buchholz are to be reconsidered for promotion to colonel by special boards which Secretary Caldera agreed to convene.

          In that settlement, Caldera also agreed to issue new guidelines to the special boards superceding the previous race and gender guidelines. The old guidelines, which have led directly to these lawsuits, required boards to essentially re-vote the results of their reviews until the results matched race and gender "goals" (which Caldera continues to insist were not quotas). The "goals" were designed to encourage the selection of women and selected races at rates comparable to white males, apparently with little regard for service record and/or seniority, according to statements.

          "The suit filed Aug. 11 [by Lt. Cols. Robert Siegert, Michael Ashe, Jay Jupiter and Maj. James Waldeck] asks the [U.S. District Court in Washington] to order the same measures -- special boards, new instructions, correction of records -- agreed to by the Army in the Sirmans settlement."

          Christopher A. Sterbenz is the attorney representing Siegert, Ashe, Jupiter and Waldeck in the current lawsuit.  Mr. Sterbenz also represented Sirmans and Buccholz in the lawsuit which earlier this summer resulted in a favorable settlement for the plaintiffs. (Based on Army Times story 08/23/99, "Newslines" section, page 9, by Jim Tice)
[link (subscribers only):  http://www.mco.com/mem/archives/army/1999/at0823k.htm ]

Affirmative Action Lawsuit to Resume (07/27/99) PAY site.
          "Settlement negotiations have broken off in a reverse discrimination lawsuit that challenges Army affirmative action policies and the 1992 lieutenant colonel selective early retirement board (SERB).

          "U.S. Court of Claims Chief Judge Loren A. Smith had suspended proceedings in Christian vs. U.S. on May 7 to allow attorneys for the Justice Department and the Army to settle with the plaintiff, retired Lt. Col. Robert F. Christian of Peachtree City, Ga. The case was reinstated one month later after both parties told Smith "no possibility of an amicable resolution ... exists at this time."

          "Christian was one of 1,200 lieutenant colonels involuntarily retired by the 1992 SERB, the most severe force-out action for field-grade officers during the drawdown. The former air defense officer has challenged the Army's use of race and gender, and branch and specialty selection goals for the early retirement screening."  (Army Times 07/27/99)
[link to PAY site:  http://www.mco.com/mem/papers/army/army25.htm ]

Promotion Board Policies Under Fire / Army Settles Reverse Discrimination Lawsuit (07/26/99) PAY site.
          "Early last year, Lt. Col. G. Allan Sirmans and Lt. Col. Ronald Buchholz filed suit in federal district court in Washington, D.C., claiming the equal opportunity guidance that secretaries of the Army provide officer selection boards violate equal protection and due process rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

          "The officers, both members of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, had been passed over for promotion by three JAG Corps colonels boards that met in 1997 and 1998. Citing Adarand and other similar cases, the officers asked the district court to nullify their passovers and reconsider them for promotion.

          "After battling this case for more than a year, the Army and its Justice Department attorneys have settled with the two JAG officers out of court.

          "Under an order filed June 21 by Judge Royce C. Lambeth, the Army agreed to:

* Convene special selection boards and reconsider -- separately -- Sirmans and Buchholz for promotion to colonel. As many as six "relook" boards with different members could be convened.

* In perhaps the most important aspect of this case, Caldera will issue instructions to the board that significantly modify the "Equal Opportunity" guidance normally provided boards.

* Under the new guidance, board members will be told "the Army is committed to unbiased consideration of officers for promotion. You may not consider race, gender or ethnic background of an officer in the course of your review and selection of officers for promotion."

* The new equal opportunity guidance will take precedence over long-standing instructions that generally require boards to conduct file reviews if they do not meet racial and gender goals. These instructions further require boards to revote files if they find evidence of racial or gender discrimination.

* If selected for promotion, one or both of the officers will be advanced to colonel, assigned a retroactive date of rank and provided appropriate back pay.

* If passed over by the relook boards, one or both of the officers will be paid an amount equal to the difference between lieutenant colonel and colonel pay between the time they initially were passed over in 1997, and the date the last special selection board adjourns."  (Army Times 07/26/99, page 10, by Jim Tice)
[link to PAY site:  http://www.mco.com/mem/papers/army/army27.htm ]

Reverse Discrimination Lawsuits Spur Formation Of Task Force (06/01/98 - no link)
          "The Defense Department's general counsel has established a task force to study the equal opportunity guidance given to service promotion boards and selective early retirement boards (SERBs), a department spokesman said. Its recommendations could lead to important changes in how military members are selected for promotion, or during a drawdown, forced to retire early. The group was formed in response to three pending lawsuits that challenge the equal opportunity language as unconstitutional, the spokesman said. He declined to comment further, citing the pending litigation.

          "At issue are instructions to Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps boards to give special consideration to women and minorities. Two of the cases challenge 1992 Army and Air Force SERBs.

          "The boards were instructed to take into consideration that women and minorities might have been subjected to past discrimination that caused them not to rank as well as white men. Such discrimination might have included lower evaluations and assignments of fewer career-enhancing opportunities, the instructions said.

          "The boards also were directed not to allow the rate of women and minorities selected for retirement to exceed that of white men. Any category in which the rate of women or minority officers selected was higher than that of white men had to be explained in a follow-up report.  [The instructions pointedtly omitted any consideration for length of service or other qualifications not related to race or gender.]

          "The Air Force board selected 610 colonels for retirement. No female colonels were selected, and the retention rate for blacks was better than the overall average.

          "That led to a class action lawsuit by 83 of the colonels selected, who said the instructions violated their right to equal protection of the laws.

          "Meanwhile, a similar case, Christian vs. U.S., is pending against the Army based on the proceedings of a 1992 Army SERB that met at Alexandria, Va.

          "That board selected 1,169 lieutenant colonels for retirement based on similar guidance. Lt. Col. Robert Christian filed suit, challenging both the equal opportunity guidance and instructions that specified the percentage of lieutenant colonels in certain career tracks that should be retained.

          "Christian claims the board first decided who should be retired, then took some minority officers off the retirement list after imposing the equal opportunity guidance.

          "A third case, Sirmans vs. Walker, was filed in February to challenge the equal opportunity provisions of the Army's 1997 promotion board to colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. Lt. Cols. G. Allan Sirmans and Ronald Buchholz filed the case after both were passed over twice for promotion. They believe the equal opportunity provisions kept them from being promoted and are unconstitutional.  (Army Times 06/01/98 page 20 by Lisa Daniel)
[no link]

Military Contractors

MacDill Air Force Base: 'Minority' Contractor Bumps Dozens of Enlisted and Civilian Personnel (09/20/99 - dead link)
          "A company that got a key contract at Tampa's air force base through a minority preference program has workers seething.

          "A private company nearly 5,000 miles from Tampa [in Alaska, to be exact] is taking over critical support functions at MacDill Air Force Base, uprooting more than 100 civilians and forcing the reassignment of 160 military employees.

          "Chugach Management Services and its parent company, Chugach Alaska Corp., have won a vast contract at the south Tampa base, spanning 10 years and costing $500 million if all options are exercised, said Col. Bradford E. Ward.

          "Beginning Nov. 1, Chugach will maintain base facilities, utilities and runways, perform carpentry, plumbing, grounds and road work, jobs done by the 6th Civil Engineer Squadron - longtime government workers and members of American Federation of Government Employees Local 153.

          "A few civilian employees face possible layoffs; others are being offered early retirement or different federal or Chugach jobs, and 160 military personnel are being transferred [due to the transfer of job responsibilities to the preferred minority company in Alaska].

          "The way Chugach won the lucrative contract has some civilian employees riled.

          "As what federal law calls a majority Native American-owned business, Chugach benefited from a federal law allowing direct conversion to a private indigenous American contractor, bypassing the lengthy, traditional bid process. And Chugach has used this law to secure other multimillion-dollar federal contracts.

          "The direct conversion at MacDill shut out 23 other private companies, including other minority and women-owned businesses, that expressed interest in bidding.  It also blocked the base's civilian employees and their union from making a case that they could run the most efficient operation. That's created a lot of animosity toward the company."  (Tampa Tribune 09/20/99 by Jacqueline Soteropoulos)
[former link **http://www.tampatrib.com/fr092003.htm]

END Military: Older News about Reverse Discrimination

Military: Older News about Reverse Discrimination