{"id":25295,"date":"2022-12-01T10:51:48","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T10:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/12\/01\/politicization-undermining-trust-in-us-military-survey-shows\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:06:26","slug":"politicization-undermining-trust-in-us-military-survey-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2022\/12\/01\/politicization-undermining-trust-in-us-military-survey-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Politicization undermining trust in US military, survey shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The American public\u2019s historically low confidence in the military as a public institution is not due solely to the action of civil or uniformed military leaders, according to a survey from the Reagan Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the Reagan National Defense Survey<\/a> found that it\u2019s the actions of commanders in chief \u2015 presidents \u2015 that have predominantly caused respondents to see the Defense Department as overly politicized<\/a>. Likewise, Republicans and Democrats are split on the threats they perceive as threatening the military: About half of respondents singled out \u201cwoke\u201d policies<\/a>, most of them leaning Republican, while half pointed toward far-right or extremist service members, most of them leaning Democratic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first year that the annual survey\u2019s been able to draw these distinctions. Previously, respondents were only asked about their trust and confidence in the military, with 70% saying they had \u201ca great deal\u201d in 2018\u2032s inaugural go-round. That number has fallen precipitously since, down to 45% in 2021, which a small uptick to 48% in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A graph depicts Reagan National Defense Survey respondents’ reasons for decreased confidence in the U.S. military. (Reagan Institute)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the survey asked an open-ended question about why that confidence was declining, and the main response was politicization, Rachel Hoff, the Reagan Institute\u2019s policy director, told reporters Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To examine why, the group added a new series of questions examining what has led to that decline in confidence, Hoff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They narrowed it down to eight questions, including three on the military\u2019s different types of leadership, and two to capture more partisan concerns: the previously mentioned \u201cwokeness\u201d and extremism in the ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, 52% of respondents pointed to an overly politicized leadership contributing at least some to their level of trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just under half of respondents noted that the military\u2019s role in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars decreased their confidence in the armed forces, with 52% saying they had concerns about the military\u2019s ability to win a future war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was also a decrease in those confident in the military\u2019s ability to act in a professional and nonpolitical manner, from 40% in 2021 to 35%,\u201d according to the survey\u2019s summary. \u201cThese trends seem to demonstrate a connection between Americans\u2019 sense of the military\u2019s ability to perform its core function and their perception of its leaders becoming overly politicized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recruiting and beyond<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s survey included another first: asking respondents ages 18 to 29 how they felt about the idea of joining the military, This line of inquiry was inspired by a rash of headlines earlier this year about the services\u2019 struggles to meet their recruiting goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\t