Table 9—Worldwide Distribution of Enlisted Personnel by Race, October 1952
(In Thousands)
| Category | European Command | Far East Command | Other Overseas Commands | Continental United States | Total |
| White | 212.1 | 293.1 | 96.0 | 649.2 | 1,250.5 |
| Black | 35.6 | 41.5 | 5.8[a] | 110.6 | 193.4 |
| Total | 247.7 | 334.6 | 101.8 | 759.8 | 1,445.9 |
| Percent black | 14.4 | 12.4 | 5.7 | 14.6 | 13.4 |
Tablenote a: Restrictions remained in effect on the assignment of Negroes to certain stations in USARPAC, TRUST, and USARCARIB.
Source: Memo, Chief, Per and Dist Br, G-1, for ACofS, G-1, 8 Oct 52, sub: Distribution of Negro Enlisted Personnel, G-1, 291.2.
Table 10—Distribution of Black Enlisted Personnel by Branch and Rank, 31 October 1952
| Branch | AUS | Regular | ||
| Total | Percent | Total | Percent | |
| Armor | 7,738 | 13.7 | 3,565 | 13.8 |
| Artillery | 33,684 | 16.9 | 14,854 | 19.9 |
| Infantry | 37,220 | 14.1 | 15,713 | 14.9 |
| Adjutant General's Corps | 1,074 | 8.8 | 663 | 10.8 |
| Chemical Corps | 1,504 | 15.5 | 633 | 20.1 |
| Corps of Engineers | 18,987 | 16.4 | 8,315 | 17.9 |
| Military Police Corps | 3,012 | 8.1 | 1,751 | 9.8 |
| Finance Corps | 68 | 2.4 | 51 | 5.3 |
| Army Medical Service | 9,896 | 12.2 | 4,439 | 12.9 |
| Ordnance Corps | 5,683 | 10.2 | 2,598 | 12.0 |
| Quartermaster Corps | 9,690 | 20.8 | 4,187 | 20.6 |
| Signal Corps | 6,923 | 8.2 | 3,192 | 8.7 |
| Transportation Corps | 16,380 | 31.2 | 8,765 | 38.2 |
| Women's Army Corps | 1,310 | 13.1 | 1,283 | 13.3 |
| No Branch assignment[a] | 42,643 | 11.4 | 17,779 | 11.7 |
| Total | 195,812[c] | 87,788 | ||
Tablenote a: In training.
Tablenote b: Figures show black percentage of total Army enlistments.
Tablenote c: Discrepancy with Table 9, which is based on September figures.
Source: STM-30, 31 Oct 52.
These percentages were part of a larger concern over the number of Negroes in the Army as a whole. Based on the evidence of draft-swollen enlistment statistics, it seemed likely that the 15 to 20 percent figure would be reached or surpassed in 1953 or 1954, and there was some discussion in the staff about restoring the quota. But such talk quickly faded as the Korean War wound down and the percentage declined. Negroes constituted 14.4 percent of enlisted strength in December 1952 and leveled off by the summer of 1955 at 11.9 percent. Statistics for the European Command illustrated the trend. In June 1955, Negroes accounted for 3.6 percent of the command's officer strength and 11.4 percent of its enlisted strength. The enlisted figure represents a drop from a high of 16.1 percent in June 1953. The percentage of black troops was down to 11.2 percent of the command's total strength—officers, warrant officers, and enlisted men—by June 1956. The reduction is explained in part by a policy adopted by all commands in February 1955 of refusing, with certain exceptions, to reenlist three-year veterans who scored less than ninety in the classification tests. In Europe alone some 5,300 enlisted men were not permitted to reenlist in 1955. Slightly more than 25 percent were black.[17-106]