Diversity Thursday

Remember - ethnic diversity is as American as Mom and apple pie. It's all good and what we live.

What is bad is that we in the Navy have as a policy an active program to rub our Sailors ethnic differences in their face when their natural and desirable tendency is to become more alike and unified.

While and interesting concept in academia - in the field of arms; encouragement of differences is a cancer. From their upcoming book Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War,

...the most important predictor of desertion was socioeconomic and demographic diversity. Ms. Costa and Mr. Kahn approvingly quote Ardant du Picq, a 19th- century French colonel and military theorist.

"Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare to attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely."

As leaders, we should take pause and take that in. Build unity in a non-ethnic context, i.e. we are all American/Sailors/Shipmates - not emphasize difference (DNA of the month club).

If everyone sees themselves as Navy first, DNA somewhere out of mind - how is that bad?

Hat tip Sid.