Be All That You Can Be?: Racial Identity Production in the U.S. Military

This analysis applies concepts from Stratification Economics to undertake an empirical investigation of racial identity production in the U.S. military. The theoretical model treats racial identity as a Becker-type commodity produced by combining market goods and services, and time, using a technology based on pre-existing cultural knowledge. The model is estimated using data from the 1996 Armed Forces Equal Opportunity Survey. The findings suggest that pre-military constructions of racial identity and patterns of racial interaction significantly constrain efforts to inculcate an identification with military culture that sublimates the sources of racial conflict. To the extent that racial tensions deteriorate in the civilian sector it is likely that the challenges facing the military in fostering unit cohesion will intensify. Existing interventions designed to promote military identity and diffuse sources of racial tension appear to have limited efficacy.