The military's ideas and actions will almost certainly stagnate and be mere reflections of a predictable compulsory military identity. Any attempts to address, let alone solve, real problems are much more likely to fail. This is deeply problematic if the military is to hold any benevolent position in our society. Rather, religious or medical reasons are needed to assure vegetarian diets will be provided by the military. This is disturbing, for secular beliefs can be central to a person's identity.
Vegetarianism relates to how people understand the world and their bodies on a fundamental level.
Religious beliefs should not be given more validity than secular beliefs, for denying either is a fundamental violation of a person's integrity. On a related note, since October 2000 the federal prison system has been serving vegetarian and vegan meals to inmates who request them. As a vegetarian myself, I find it reassuring that if I am incarcerated by the federal system, I will still get to eat. In the past, vegetarians not served nutritional vegetarian food have resorted to hunger strikes or to abandoning their vegetarianism. I question the value of the U.S. prison system.