Confidence in the American military fell to the lowest level observed in two decades, according to a recent survey from Gallup, a phenomenon which occurs as senior leadership draws criticism for perceived politicization and a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Some 60% of respondents to the survey said that they have confidence in the military, constituting the lowest degree of trust since 1997. Republicans have historically maintained a greater amount of confidence in the institution over the past five decades, but their level of trust has decreased from 91% to 68% over the past three years.
Independents likewise saw their confidence in the military decline from 68% to 55% over the same time horizon as Democratic confidence slightly increased from 61% to 62%.
“Confidence in the military has continued to decline among the public,” the organization said. “The declines this year were across all party identification groups, with Republicans remaining the most likely to express confidence and independents becoming the least likely.”
Gallup noted that public perceptions of the military have “fluctuated dramatically” amid the end of the Cold War, the aftermath of the Gulf War, and the conclusion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Joe Biden ordered a withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago, which resulted in the immediate collapse of the nation’s government at the hands of the Taliban even as significant amounts of American military equipment were left in the country.
Davis Younts, a retired lieutenant colonel who served as an Air Force JAG, said in remarks provided to The Sentinel that the sharp decline in trust for the military is likely attributable to decreased confidence in senior leadership.
“General officers like Mark Milley allowed themselves to become political tools of partisan politicians and publicly ignored the threat that Marxist ideologies have on military readiness and morale,” he commented. “I fear the drop in confidence will continue as long as military leaders continue to focus more on woke policies that combat readiness and continue to display open hostility to the Christian faith and traditional American values.”
Milley indeed faced backlash after he said during a congressional hearing that he wanted to learn more about “white rage,” even as he dismissed the notion that military schools teach critical race theory, an ideology which contends that certain ethnic groups in the United States are intrinsically oppressors while others are intrinsically oppressed.
The Sentinel has meanwhile reported that military officials are allowing self-described transgender service members to skip deployments, while Democratic lawmakers are contending that a proposed ban on retribution against service members with a conviction that marriage is “a union of one man and one woman” would limit “the diversity of our military.”
Younts added that the Defense Department “illegally implemented” a vaccine mandate amid the lockdowns, resulting in various threats against service members who refused the treatment.
“Not only did the military fail to follow the requirements of the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but they also attempted to force military members to receive an ‘emergency use authorization’ product in clear violation of federal law,” he said. “Unfortunately, the treatment of service members and their families by senior leaders have resulted in a loss of confidence in military leadership and that feeling is spreading to the rest of the American public.”
Officials from several branches are reporting severe recruitment shortfalls amid the declining trust in the military, even as less than one-quarter of Americans between seventeen and twenty-four years old currently meet the requirements to serve.
