The next generation of service members will be instrumental in diversifying the military, Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley said Wednesday. Milley was speaking at a Howard University ROTC commissioning ceremony.

“We must get better,” he said.

While 20 percent of the military is Black, only two of 41 four-star generals are Black, Milley told the cadets.

“Our nation is ready to fulfill the promise of our Constitution to build a more perfect union and to ensure equal justice for all people, and it is your generation that can and will bring the joint force to be truly inclusive of all people.”

Army photo by Spc. Dana Clarke