End of Segregation After the war, a Board of Officers met in 1946 to evaluate the aviation engineer experience and discuss the future of black engineer units. Showing how little impact the successful efforts of the black EABs made on thwarting institutional and individual bias, the board recommended: "It follows that, because technical skills are relatively seldom attained by individuals of the colored race, Aviation Engineer units requiring a high proportion of technical skills would not normally be colored. On the other hand, colored personnel may be used, without comparable sacrifice of efficiency, in units wherein labor requirements are predominant." The following year, however, institutional and individual bias gave way to the growing success of the Civil Rights movement when President Harry S Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ordered the desegregation of the Armed Forces. Click here to return to the Engineer Aviation Battalions Overview. Find Out More Related Fact Sheets Integration of the USAF Note: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the National Museum of the USAF, the U.S. Air Force, or the Department of Defense, of the external website, or the information, products or services contained therein.