I have to confess that I didn't read the article until now. But I've been down with a virus for the last 5 days and am going stir-crazy, and now that I've read it, my pulse has pegged at least three times.

After I calmed down, I am reminded of a young Anthropologist who came to live with us in a small midwestern town in the early 90s. She was from upstate "NWYARK", and was studying the small town midwest (nothing like working what you know, eh?). In particular, she was interested in the interaction of the old guys downtown, and spent a lot of time just hanging around them.

I let her run on the line for about 3 months before I shattered her little idealistic world. I was working in a Social Work field at the time, which is how she came to us, and one night over supper the conversation turned to her work. She discussed some of what she'd "learned" in her observations, and I let the hammer drop. I merely asked her how she was dealing with contaminating her subject. Long silence and look of confusion. "Contaminating my subject?" she responded. In short, I asked her how she thought that she was actually observing genuine "old man in a midwestern town" behavior, when she was 23, from upstate "Nwyark" and quite beautiful. She had no idea that old men in a small midwestern town might adapt their behavior when in the presence of a young, beautiful woman who was considered by the men to be their social superior AND was there for some ulterior purpose. She also had absolutely no clue about male-female interaction, as she had been thoroughly washed in the PC "men and women are no different" blood.

If she is an example of what passes for Anthro today, I wonder just how useful Anthropologists will actually BE for the military.