In a 1996 survey of U.S. military personnel, more than 65 percent experienced racially
offensive behavior, and approximately one-in-ten reported threatening incidents or careerrelated
racial discrimination. Perceived racial harassment is driven by social classifications
that extend beyond racial group membership. While race clearly matters, there is also
diversity in the harassment experiences of individuals of the same race with diverging
organizational, cultural or social experiences. Social prescriptions constraining inter-racial
interactions are associated with higher rates of offensive racial encounters and more careerrelated
discrimination, while aspects of an installation’s institutional culture also directly affect
harassment. Together, these results lend support for a model of racial harassment that
encompasses both institutional factors and a multifaceted notion of racial identity.