Our army

Conventional wisdom holds that American military is overwhelmingly conservative and Republican, and extremely political. Our Army paints a more complex picture, demonstrating that while Army officers are more conservative, rank-and-file soldiers hold political views that mirror those of the American public, and Amy personnel are less partisan and politically engaged than most civilians. Assumptions about political attitudes in U.S. Army are based largely on studies focusing on senior ranks, yet senior officers comprise only about 6 percent of America's fighting force. Jason Dempsey provides first random sample survey that also covers social and political attitudes held by enlisted men and women in the Army. Uniting these findings with those from another survey he conducted among cadets at United States Military Academy on eve of the 2004 presidential election, Dempsey offers most detailed look at how service members of all ranks approach politics. He shows many West Point cadets view political conservatism as part of being an officer, raising important questions about how the Army indoctrinates officers politically. He reveals that rank-and-file Army is not nearly as homogeneous, or as politically active, and that political attitudes across ranks are undergoing a substantial shift--Publisher's description.

Year

2009

Language

English

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Editions

1

Pages

280

ISBN

9780691142241

Data source: Wikidata