The New York Times chronicles the daily life of Soldiers of the 87th Infantry, with particular attention to what most Soldiers spend their time doing:

One moment, their sergeants are barking at them to stay ready, eyes focused, rifles loaded, protective gear at hand. In the next, the soldiers are searching for amusement, killing time with the skill of people who have had plenty of practice. 

They tell stories about girlfriends, wives, drinking and sex. They wrestle and play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. They share music on iPods and check football scores on BlackBerrys. They debate evolution and chase chickens. They argue over comic-book heroes and then tell more stories about sex.

It often seems civilians fail to understand how a Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman can go “to work” and fail to avoid discussions on “controversial” topics.  The article makes the point well:  The military isn’t like any other organization.  Military men and women sleep, eat, live, fight, and die along side each other — and they also spend a huge amount of time in the military tradition of “hurry up and wait”: simply killing time, arguing about football, physics, and, yes, even money, sex, and religion.

True, there are some things you don’t talk about at the office or in the presence of polite company.  But in the military, unlike the rest of the world, there may not be an office, and there is rarely polite company.