ABSTRACT
A little more than a decade ago, three of Everett Hughes’ students joinerd an army to study soldiers. It was an extraordinary sociological venture, for we were all fresh out of armies and still in or just out of graduate study in sociology. We knew that the only way to really find out anything was to experience it. So, we donned uniforms, slept in barracks, ate in the messes, ran the obstacle courses, and joined the men prowling the local taverns and dance halls on weekend passes. First, we just looked, listened, and interacted. We did everything the men did and talked to them about it. We slipped away at night to type our notes. There was no deception. Everybody knew that we were making a study, though we were not very explicit about what this involved. But, since we were in uniform and did what they did, they soon forgot the difference.
