A Defense Department article on Equal Opportunity opened with an interesting sentence on the military culture:

Black or white, Christian or atheist, West Coast or East Coast, service members come from all walks of life, with every culture having its own beliefs, values and style of leadership.

It has long been understood that the US military is a cross-section of the society from which it is drawn.  Occasionally a military controversy will crop up that will inspire some civilian commenters to say “I can’t imagine having to work with a person who thinks X.”  The angst they feel, however, is rarely duplicated in the military because troops are already accustomed to working together despite vast differences in background or beliefs.

The course itself seemed to have an admirable objective:

We’re trying to teach them not to judge a book by its cover; instead, they have to open it and really get to know that individual.

That’s a place the US culture is often a bit weak — a cultural trait that, like everything else, is working its way into the military.  For example, only in recent years — recent months, even — has it become socially acceptable to act like a third grader on a playground and call people names based on nothing more than their statement of personal beliefs.

Doubt it?  Ever notice how many times defenders of DADT have been called “bigots” — including by their fellow members of the military?