The army is no more conservative than the rest of the country...

[Person Man]

...and without officers, its actually more liberal. However, the officers themselves are one of the most conservative demographics one can find.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/

[MODU]

Hmmm . . . odd, my reply didn't go through.  Anyway....

This pretty much matches up with what Mikey, myself, and others have said.  Being pro-security/military doesn't mean being conservative.  However, the republican party has the better reputation about being pro-security/military, so there will be a shift in that direction.

[2952-0-0]

Does it matter?

This is not Bolivia or El Salvador where the Armed Forces dictate politics by threatening to launch a coup every few weeks.

[Verily]

The army is disproportionately poor (and minority). This is no surprise.

[Person Man]

Hmmm . . . odd, my reply didn't go through.  Anyway....

This pretty much matches up with what Mikey, myself, and others have said.  Being pro-security/military doesn't mean being conservative.  However, the republican party has the better reputation about being pro-security/military, so there will be a shift in that direction.

Then again, maybe the shift has already occured. I mean, this entire thing that "Republincans make better military decision" is just a relic of the Vietnam War. We shall see though.

[Colin]

This is not Bolivia or El Salvador where the Armed Forces dictate politics by threatening to launch a coup every few weeks.

Though it should be. American politics would be a hell of a lot more interesting if General Petraeus threatened to launch a coup.

[CPT MikeyMike]

Hmmm . . . odd, my reply didn't go through.  Anyway....

This pretty much matches up with what Mikey, myself, and others have said.  Being pro-security/military doesn't mean being conservative.  However, the republican party has the better reputation about being pro-security/military, so there will be a shift in that direction.

Then again, maybe the shift has already occured. I mean, this entire thing that "Republincans make better military decision" is just a relic of the Vietnam War. We shall see though.

I have to say most are Christan conservative. They go to church and tend to hold socially conservative views such as gays in the military.  If the Republicans had a socially moderate to liberal candidate, it wouldn't play well. However some of the military personel are still disgusted by the Clinton era and that could be part of the reason for the leaning Republican tendencies.

[Person Man]

Well, apparently it's not showing amongst enlisted troops, but apparently most officers are fundamentalists who are upset over Clinton's micromanagement in Kosovo and funding cuts due to the end of the Cold War.

[dead0man]

This isn't surprising.  The military isn't what the general public thinks it is.  Either side.  It certainly isn't an arm of the GOP or anything.  It's also not a bunch of poors and blacks either, but it's also not a perfect cross section of the US population.  It's not even the same across the different branches, the Air Force has all the hot chicks for example.

[CARLHAYDEN]

Er,

First, the survey is rather old.

Second, did you read all the caveats?

Third, I'd like to see the internals.

Fourth, I'm really skeptical as it doesn't differentiate between NCOs and other enlisted.

Fifth, the army has a lower SES for its enlisted than the other services.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Yeah, but the army has the highest number of BLCS's and RBTI's..

[Person Man]

But it is significantly more Republican, which is interesting.  I assume that, like MODU said, this is because of their attention to security as an important issue.

Probably because of Vietnam and the end of the Cold War.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

But it is significantly more Republican, which is interesting.  I assume that, like MODU said, this is because of their attention to security as an important issue.

Probably because of Vietnam and the end of the Cold War.

Both wrong. The army as a modern institution always puts a high value on 1) conformism and 2) nationalism, die-in-the-wool liberals just don't join the armed services (unless desperate). If the Army wasn't leaning Republican we would actually see some very strange things indeed.

[Person Man]

But it is significantly more Republican, which is interesting.  I assume that, like MODU said, this is because of their attention to security as an important issue.

Probably because of Vietnam and the end of the Cold War.

Both wrong. The army as a modern institution always puts a high value on 1) conformism and 2) nationalism, die-in-the-wool liberals just don't join the armed services (unless desperate). If the Army wasn't leaning Republican we would actually see some very strange things indeed.

What I am guessing is that there are some liberals who join, but they don't stay long because "they don't like it". That's why you see the enlisted ranks somewhat more liberal and the officers as reactionary. Also, the longer you stay, the more isolated you are from the problems that real people face. This is because in the army, there is no excuse for failure.

[War on Want]

The army is disproportionately poor (and minority). This is no surprise.