Editing Robert McNamara (section)

===Equality of opportunity===
To commemorate President [[Harry S Truman]]'s signing an order to [[Executive Order 9981|end segregation in the military]], McNamara issued [[Directive 5120.36]] on July 26, 1963. This directive, ''Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces'', dealt directly with the issue of racial and gender discrimination in areas surrounding military communities. The directive declared, "Every military commander has the responsibility to oppose discriminatory practices affecting his men and their dependents and to foster equal opportunity for them, not only in areas under his immediate control, but also in nearby communities where they may live or gather in off-duty hours." (para. II.C.)<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www2.arims.army.mil/rmdaxml/rmdadocuments/ERR%20DOCUMENTS/srpshv1.pdf |title=The Secretary of the Army's Senior Review Panel on Sexual Harassment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051108070840/https://www2.arims.army.mil/rmdaxml/rmdadocuments/ERR%20DOCUMENTS/srpshv1.pdf | archive-date=2005-11-08 |page=127 }}</ref>  Under the directive, commanding officers were obligated to use the economic power of the military to influence local businesses in their treatment of minorities and women. With the approval of the Secretary of Defense, the commanding officer could declare areas off-limits to military personnel for discriminatory practices. While McNamara's directive dealing with the issue of racial and gender discrimination in areas surrounding military communities was issued in 1963, it was not until 1967 that the first non-military establishment was declared off-limits. In 1970 the requirement that commanding officers first obtain permission from the Secretary of Defense was lifted.{{sfn|Antecol|Cobb-Clark|2005|p=8}}{{better|date=May 2025}}