Military culture is changing
Not all for the best, but change is inevitable. Ken, JT and some of the others can remember officers' clubs, "calls" on commanding officers, "mandatory" officers' wives' clubs, etc. Social life was much more focused on the base, the unit, etc., than is apparent today. Most of our families were exposed to diverse foreign cultures. But that was then and this is now.
As for ROTC, I think that the detractors have a serious cart and horse problem. We close programs, not to exclude part of the population, but as a business matter. Look at it this way -- if I can produce 34 widgets for x amount of money, or over 200 for the same amount, which operation am I going to keep open? Having worked the famous MIT magnet program (5 schools), I'm just not buying the "build it and they will come" model. I do think that the effort to recruit highspeed folks who didn't or couldn't participate in ROTC is a worthy effort and I look forward to seeing how this all pans out.
OBTW -- been slogging through rice paddies in the far East and hanging at the opera in Vienna (hardship tour), and there are a bunch of us around who don't fit your preferred stereotype.
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