Ron Kampeas reports: That applies especially to swimming, where some blacks fare poorly. SEALs candidates must swim 500 yards in 12 minutes.
“I wouldn’t want to be next to a guy who’s `not sure’ he knows how to swim across a flowing jungle river,” said retired Army Maj. Andy Messing, who is white.
Messing says any difference _ being black, Hispanic, Jewish or even overtly religious _ exacerbates existing tensions in the grinding training regimen for special forces.
Bill Leftwich, who was the top Defense Department diversity official in the Clinton administration, said a military career is tough enough by itself and some blacks don’t want to take on the added burden of dealing with racial attitudes in the special forces.
“Folks ask, `What degree of difficulty do I want to add to my career, do I really want more than there already is now?'” said Leftwich, who is black.
