Black American servicemembers serve in the military every day with great distinction, as do people with white, brown, red and yellow skin pigmentation. We should be proud of every person who wears the uniform and especially those who serve or who have served in Iraq , Afghanistan and during Hurricane Katrina. However, when the Department of Defense (DoD) starts playing politics with race I have a problem with that. On February 25, 2006, in a reception hosted by DoD and the Army Test and Evaluation Command in Austin Texas, eleven American heroes were honored, not just for doing a superb job, but for being black.

When I was in the military, years ago, the military bragged about trying to create a color blind environment where people were judged not on a basis of their skin pigmentation but on a basis of what they had done. It wasn't perfect even then, but that was the stated goal. Now DoD is using its servicemembers as media props to attempt to appear politically correct, and I believe they are wrong for doing so. The eleven servicemembers who DoD showcased are no less heroes in my mind, but DoD is smaller for failing to remember that in a team environment you should not set people apart, or create racial divisions. I look forward to the full implementation of a color blind military.

Author’s bio: Gutheinz is a former military intelligence officer and aviator and a retired NASA Office of Inspector General senior special agent. He is a criminal defense attorney licensed by 10 courts to include the United States Supreme Court; and a college instructor for both the University of Phoenix and Alvin Community College. He holds 6 degrees and 8 teaching credentials. He is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency Career Achievement Award. He is the past top graduate (Honor Graduate) from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Criminal Investigators Basic Course. His prior writings include: In Search of the Goodwill Moon Rocks, Geotimes Magazine; There Will be a Day After Tomorrow, SpaceDaily.com and Hizb-ut-Tahrir is a Scary Group that Needed to be Outlawed, The Conservative Voice.