"Several recent studies have examined the effects of race, ethnicity, and gender on military cohesion. Siebold and Lindsay (2000) noted that “a central tenet of current personnel policy is that the Army can recruit 17- to 21-year-old men [sic] . . . from different demographic backgrounds, train them, and assign them to groups with leaders, who also have different demographic backgrounds, to form cohesive, motivated, and competent combat units.” They report on an Army Research Institute study of 60 light infantry platoons (955 soldiers) at the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center and NTC. Soldiers completed a detailed questionnaire assessing squad cohesion and related attitudes. The average self-reported cohesion rating was around 3.4 on a 5-point scale (5=high cohesion), with no differences in self-reported cohesion ratings for white, black, Hispanic, and Asian soldiers. The researchers noted that “[t]his pattern of little differentiation based on racial or ethnic (demographic) group membership is typical. The unit’s internal conditions, including leadership quality, appear to be the dominant influences on soldier cohesion and motivation.”"