A just-released survey of racial attitudes in the armed forces yielded two important yet hardly surprising findings: As a whole, the American military has done a far better job than the rest of America in eliminating race as a barrier to opportunity and as a source of confrontation; individually, the perception of how well the military has done that depends upon the individual’s race.

More than 40,000 members of all branches of service took part in the survey, a commendable indication of how seriously the military takes this issue. Respect, teamwork and trust are important everywhere; in uniform they are indispensable.

A solid majority in all racial groups said they believed race relations are better in the military than in civilian life and that, when discrimination does occur, the military offers more timely and effective recourse. The perception of the extent to which relations are better and of the quality of recourse, however, varies significantly according to race and, to some degree, rank.

The findings also highlight an important distinction between official policy and unofficial personal relationships. Nearly 90 percent of service members say race has never been a factor in their assignments, evaluations and promotions. Although the racial breakdown of that total — 96 percent for whites, 86 percent for Hispanics and 80 percent for blacks — makes clear the need for greater effort, it is a score other sectors of society would do well to match.

It is at the personal level, though, that the military looks a lot more like the civilian world. Three-quarters of minorities in uniform said they’ve experienced racially offensive behavior and fewer than half said they were confident that complaints of discrimination are thoroughly investigated. While offensive behavior is more prevalent among enlisted personnel, officers are not immune: More than 70 percent of minority officers said they had been the target of racially motivated bias, mostly in the form of insulting, demeaning remarks.

The military’s gap between policy and personal relationships mirrors the civilian world. There are plenty of legal protections against institutional racism, but none can touch the mind or the heart infected with bias.

Three recent cases here in Maine illustrate the difficulty in trying to outlaw stupid behavior. The head of the influential National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is forced to resign after referring to the former Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr., as a “damned chili eater.” Two Biddeford residents dress up in clownish Klan costumes and parade in front of the home of a black candidate for city office. A mechanic loses his dream job on the NASCAR circuit for participating in a pseudo-Klan confrontation with a black mechanic. In all three cases, the offenders offer the same defense: I meant it as a joke; I’m sorry if anyone was offended; I’m not a racist.

It’s a tiresome and meaningless defense. Such remarks and conduct can never be funny. They were intended to offend. Racism is defined by words and deeds, and cannot be undone by self-serving apologies. In conducting this survey so thoroughly and in discussing its findings so candidly, military officials have shed a lot of light on upon life in the armed services. They’ve also lifted up a rock the rest of society would rather not look under.