In 1948 President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order prohibiting racial discrimination in the American armed services to end the practice of segregation and to require equal treatment of African Americans. By the early 1950s the military became integrated at the unit level. In the twenty-first century the armed forces may well be the most integrated institution in American society. It is one situation where African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Europeans routinely boss each other around, with full expectation that orders will be carried out regardless of any prejudices. Furthermore, by the twenty-first century, African-American and Hispanic culture had become part of the institutional culture of the military.

That integration, moreover, is found not only on the parade ground but also in everyday life. There is true socializing in every aspect of military life from the dining hall to residential accommodations. Barbershops...