Until the military gets its act together, there are some reasons, especially for women, to avoid military service like the plague:
"During his training in 2002, Stephen told me that his drill instructor gave a rousing speech at the end of Marine combat training: "This is the reality of war. We Marines like war. We like killing. We like raping females. This is what we do." (former Marine Corps Lance Corporal Stephen Funk)
Stephen, the former Marine corporal, said that his training on operating machine guns included a tip to avoid overheating the machinery: Squeeze the trigger for as long as it takes to chant, "Die, fucking raghead, die."
Basic training also reinforces racism.
"Iraq war veteran Aidan Delgado, who served as a mechanic in the 320th Military Police Company in Abu Ghraib, described how his training led to racism against Muslims and Arabs.
"'Hajji' is the new slur, the new ethnic slur for Arabs and Muslims. It is used extensively in the military," he told a reporter. "The Arabic word refers to one who has gone on a pilgrimage to Mecca. But it is used in the military with the same kind of connotation as 'gook,' 'Charlie,' or the n-word.’ "
10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military
by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Cindy Sheehan
http://www.amazon.com/
Ignorance and racism here is nothing new - it’s an old culture in the US military.

