The U.S. Army educates its military and civilian workers to understand and respect diverse ethnic cultures. It makes an effective fighting force from people of diverse backgrounds by valuing the strengths and experience of all and uniting them in the Army’s culture.

Lisa Alley is a public affairs specialist with U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

If you were a drill sergeant looking over a typical formation of U.S. Army recruits on their first day of basic training, you’d look into the faces of both males and females and see a stew of ethnic groups broadly defined by the Army as Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific Islander, Native American, or “other.”

Out of your basic-training company of, say, 100 soldiers, 85 would be male and 15 would be female. Among those 85 men, the company may consist of 60 whites, 10 blacks, 10 Hispanics, four Asian-Pacific Islanders, and one Native American. Among the 15 women, eight may be Caucasian, four may be African-American, two may be Hispanic, and one may be Asian-Pacific Islander.

Some may see this stew of different national origins, ethnic groups from within the United States, and both genders as a nonappetizing mixture promising a bellyache, but the U.S. Army is one of the world’s most effective fighting forces and is known as a model for diversity. Somehow the Army makes it work. How?

The Army’s success rests on its noncommissioned officer (NCO) trainers: drill sergeants, instructors, equal-opportunity advisers. NCOs serving as trainers describe two keys to the Army’s success.

Keys to Success

One key is the Army’s Equal Opportunity Program for educating its military and civilian workforce to understand and respect the Army’s diverse cultures and viewpoints.

“As a society we haven’t yet broken through the racial and gender barriers, and the Army is no different,” said Sergeant 1st Class Michelle Fonseca, a native Hawaiian. Fonseca serves as an equal-opportunity adviser at Fort Benning, Georgia, where she educates people on understanding diversity. “However, as an institution, we are the social leaders in equality and fairness for all. We provide awareness and continue to promote dignity and respect for all soldiers, regardless of their race or color, religion, gender, and national origin.”

The other key is what is called “soldierization” in basic training, where drill sergeants make new recruits into soldiers. Drill sergeants teach new soldiers the seven Army core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. These values are inculcated toward the Army and all other fellow soldiers. Diversity is especially addressed by the Army value of respect and by the Soldier’s Code, in which soldiers pledge to treat others with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same.

“Putting [new soldiers] through the ‘Army soldierization’ process is an incredible experience,” said Master Sergeant Tony McClure, who serves as the senior equal-opportunity adviser for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Of Thai and African-American heritage, McClure spoke from the perspective of a former drill sergeant, Airborne School instructor, U.S. diplomat in Africa, and company first sergeant.

“The training environment self-melds soldiers from different national origins, ethnic groups, and sexes because soldiers have to live with each other and deal with each other’s differences, good or bad,” McClure said. “You realize the Army is doing a good thing when you see the change that occurs in each soldier at graduation and [hear] the feedback from their parents saying their daughter or son has become a new woman or man.”

Shared Connections

In building teams of soldiers from diverse backgrounds, NCOs focus on what unites soldiers: their Army service.

The Army’s culture is a social system that includes shared values, beliefs, customs, and traditions, Fonseca said.

“Often, when we come in contact with individuals of various races or ethnic backgrounds, we focus on the differences between us rather than on what can be gained or accomplished by sharing our experiences and perspectives,” she said. “To build an effective fighting force, we must recognize that every member of the organization is valuable and has something unique to contribute.”

Recognizing the benefits of diversity, the strengths and experiences of every military member, is crucial for success, she said.

Upon entering the Army, Fonseca said, she had no expectations other than to travel, pursue her education, and meet people. Meeting other soldiers from varied racial or ethnic backgrounds turned out to be a cultural shock for her because they had nothing in common on a personal level.

“I learned to form bonds with other soldiers based on the connection we experienced together through the Army,” Fonseca said. “Soldiers share a common thread: loyalty, duty, and commitment to our country. Together we train, lead, fight, and often die.”

Room for Improvement

The Army isn’t perfect when it comes to diversity, NCOs said. “There are things the Army could do better,” said Sergeant 1st Class Matt Ruan, a drill sergeant in the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, Presidio of Monterey, California. Ruan emigrated from China to the United States in 1992 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1997.

“For example, minorities make up a good percentage of our force, but in the Military Intelligence Branch, only a small percentage is [a member of a] minority, especially in the leadership positions,” he said. On the other hand, he said, across the Army, minority leadership in some other branches outnumbers whites. An example is Fort Jackson, South Carolina, one of the Army’s major training bases, where, he said, “minorities in leadership positions, especially African Americans, far outnumber white Americans.”

Fonseca said the Army often acts in a more reactive than proactive way to eliminate discrimination and address racial issues.

“We sometimes forget that soldiers are human beings and not machines,” she said. “To be an effective fighting force, we must remember the human aspect of our force and its members.”

An endorsement of diversity comes from the Army’s top officer, who said that the U.S. Army’s example in Iraq has helped the Middle Eastern country make a team of its army, which comprises Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Kurds, and people of other groups.

“I firmly believe the strength of our Army comes from our diversity,” said General George Casey, the Army’s chief of staff. Seeing how U.S. soldiers of different nationalities work together “has really helped the Iraqi army retain its role as the only nonsectarian organization in that whole country,” he said, “so if you’re looking for the impact of the strength, the diversity of an organization, look no further than that.”