This. The most tight knit people I've met are in military special operations: Nothing comes close to the combination of technical skills, teamwork and ability to mitigate "interpersonal friction" that those guys have, IMO.
The telling thing is: Not once have I heard these folks refer to themselves as a "family" - almost like it is an insult to what family really is (separate and sacred). Only have I heard them refer to themselves collectively as a "team" or a "community".
Check out any books / articles relating to the Marine Corps' "The Basic School" - It is where newly commissioned officers (and warrant officers) learn how to lead Marines.
My fav is: "One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer" - by Nate Fick.
Long story short - The Basic School and training cadre are so effective at producing outstanding leaders, that MBA programs like Harvard and Wharton have built in a number of aspects of it to their "team building" courses / sequences:
http://news.smeal.psu.edu/news-archive/2014/united-states-ma...
The telling thing is: Not once have I heard these folks refer to themselves as a "family" - almost like it is an insult to what family really is (separate and sacred). Only have I heard them refer to themselves collectively as a "team" or a "community".