Gates

WASHINGTON (AP):

Blacks have made great strides in the military since it was integrated 60 years ago, but they still struggle to gain a foothold in the higher ranks, where less than six per cent of US general officers are African-American.

At a ceremony commemorating the day President Harry Truman ordered the desegregation of the armed forces, military officials and black leaders said the US must not rest on its laurels.

''My hope and expectation is that, in the years ahead, more African Americans will staff the armed forces at the highest levels,'' Defence Secretary Robert Gates told a crowd that included many black former service members. ''We must make sure the American military continues to be a great engine of progress and equality.''