The U.S. Armed Forces: Have You Found A Better Place To Have That Honest Conversation About Race?

From the age of 5 I grew up in an all white/ native Indian area of our country. The local racial joke were Polish and Finnish in nature. Fortunately I was born at Fort Sam Houston military hospital and had friends that were of different races prior to moving to the western end of the upper peninsula of michigan. So boot camp wasn't a big shock to me as it would have been to a native born yooper.

My answer: Lisa, just let me pay for my coffee and be on my way.

MAJ Holland, what you said to your barista was absolutely brilliant and spot-on as far as i am concerned. You are absolutely correct about basic training being an extreme cultural experience, but it most definitely goes well beyond basic training. I often brag about how so well-integrated our military is in terms of racial/cultural diversity. And in my own experience, having spent exactly half of my career in Germany, I found it most profound in the overseas setting because everywhere is like Little America in terms of the installations scattered around the country. K-Town (Kaiserslautern) being the best example of Little America where you had such a large convergence of installations such as Ramstein AFB, Sembach AFB, and Landstuhl Hospital complex, etc. There was such a huge American population concentrated in this area and we all had one very key thing in common in that we were all a very long way from home. But it goes well beyond that. We were focused on doing our jobs, working together, living together, our children going to school together, playing together, etc. And despite being commonly referred to as Little America, you never saw a more diverse and cross-cultural setting anywhere else involving so many Americans. Now I have to qualify what I've just stated with the fact that I was never assigned to that area, I am just using it as an example. But even in the less densely-populated-with-American areas, it was basically the same thing, and I can only think of a very few people I've known who did not absolutely love that setting.

Absolutely awesome!

MAJ (Join to see). I just wish you could have snapped a quick picture of her face at the moment of realization of your comments.

The notion that baristas at Starbucks should be engaging anyone on conversation about race is absurd. What changes race relations in America (or anywhere) is exactly the type of experience you described to her. There is no better example of young Americans of all backgrounds being tossed together and forced to work as a team and respect each other (even if they may not initially like each other).

They talk about it a lot on college campuses and in political circles in Washington DC and state capitals and high end cocktail parties. The US Military doesn't talk about it, they actually operate a working model.

You cannot force the average civillian into a similar situation. They have to voluntarily enter it and stay in it. Very few people stray far from people like them. It is natural for everyone to do so. Just look at the way we enclave in areas of towns and cities and neighborhoods across the country.

Spot on, Sir.

I'm going to say no. Despite the cultural differences recruits have entering in the military, basic training serves to erase those differences and mold you into a United States Service Member. Doctrine like shaved heads, shared living spaces, and uniform clothing serve to remove some of the previous superficial cultural differences. One cultural similarity among recruits though is a desire to serve and be fit enough to do it.
Also, I can't speak for all services, but most of the people I met in the service did gradually fall into cliques of similar socio-economic backgrounds outside of work. Key phrase being: outside of work. Nothing but more or less strict professionalism in the hanger. We would join hands in unity around the bird and sing it Kumbaya just to get the blessed thing to pass its FCF if we had to.

It is one of things I love about the military. How I've gotten to meet people from almost every walk of life, from every corner of the country, from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. It has helped my broader understanding of American culture and diversity, which is great for understanding where people are coming from, even when you disagree with them.

The more SHTF situation you're subjected to, the less time you have to ponder about race (even gender), but to get through mission in one piece. Combat and high-speed tours are the best at maintaining unit cohesion.

Lesser or lower speed commands tend to bring complacency, laziness and separation/segregation amongst members, and that's where problems happen a lot of times.

Keywords here: laziness and complacency. They bring out old habits and biases, making unit less 'combat', more 'culture' ready, and can also subconsciously breed racism.