(Photo: mark6mauno)
Research by RAND found that despite Americans holding overwhelmingly positive stereotypes about Veterans, most would discourage a young person close to them from enlisting in the U.S. Military.
The study revealed that Americans hold overwhelmingly positive opinions of Veterans, with endorsement rates ranging from 30% to 80% for positive opinions and only 3% to 20% for negative opinions. Yet despite this view, a significant majority, 54.4%, would discourage a young person close to them from enlisting in the military.
The research highlighted variations in perceptions based on respondents’ demographics, such as age, political affiliation, military service history, family members’ service, and race or ethnicity. Interestingly, while a majority would discourage enlistment, 61.2% would encourage a young person to join the military through Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, ROTC, or a service academy.
Having a higher tendency to embrace negative stereotypes about Veterans correlates with a reduced likelihood of supporting a young person’s decision to join the military and an increased likelihood of perceiving widespread negative views toward the military. Democrats show a lower inclination than Republicans to endorse military enlistment but exhibit similar attitudes toward encouraging participation through ROTC or a service academy.
Examining the decline in the number of adults with military service experience, the study aimed to understand how the public thinks about Veterans and military service. The percentage of the population with military service experience dropped from 10% to 7% over 12 years. This decline is attributed to the mortality among large cohorts of Veterans from previous conflicts.
Individuals with military service experience are more prone to believing that the general public holds a negative perception of the military compared to those without military backgrounds.
RAND researchers conducted an analysis of the 2022 American Life Panel surveys consisting of over 6,000 members aged 18 and older. The results indicated that military service remains a predominantly male experience, with men more likely to report having served and having friends who served.
The survey explored respondents’ perceptions of Veterans, revealing that positive stereotypes were more commonly endorsed, such as being disciplined, responsible, loyal, and self-reliant. Notably, demographic differences influenced stereotype endorsements, with older individuals, white respondents, Veterans or their family members, and Republicans endorsing positive stereotypes more frequently.
The study also addressed public opinions on the treatment of Veterans, with a majority believing the country could do more for Veterans. When asked to choose program areas needing improvement, over half identified mental health care services for Veterans as a priority.
Despite positive perceptions, a paradoxical finding emerged regarding concerns about Veterans’ potential for self-harm. While approximately two-thirds viewed Veterans as more reliable and hardworking, over 40% believed a Veteran could engage in self-harm. The research looked at Americans’ willingness to support programs for Veterans, showing that mental health care services received the highest endorsement, followed by housing support, physical health care, and employment-related help.
The study concludes by emphasizing the complex relationship between public opinion and policy, asserting that public views on Veterans and the military could shape policy decisions in the future. Understanding these perceptions are significant, especially in the context of potential policy changes and advocacy for Veterans. Overall, the findings suggested that while concerns about negative stereotypes exist, the public largely holds positive perceptions of Veterans and acknowledges the need for government support in addressing Veterans’ challenges.
Further research is needed to gain deeper insights into the reasons behind Americans discouraging military enlistment, understanding the factors contributing to lower enlistment rates, and exploring the perceptions of younger individuals.
Author: Rikki Almanza
Rikki is a Web Content Coordinator for the American Legion, Department of California. With a deep-rooted connection to the military, a spouse who is a Navy veteran, a father who served in the Air Force for 25 years, and a grandfather who proudly served, Rikki is committed to using her skills and knowledge to provide valuable assistance and resources to servicemembers and veterans.
For context, I’m an active-duty Vet. USMC ’93-97. My father was a survivor of The Great Depression and The Korean WAR. I was raised to value military service and to hold the gift of being born an American as a precious one, which I still do. I see several factors coming together to create a perfect storm that will lead to a continued lack of service in the future. First is the rise of the information age and the propagation of a global mindset. Second is the moral decay of our citizens, and third is the reckless deployment of our young men and women around the world to protect Wall Street and its corporate interests rather than National Interests.
The generations of the information age are exactly that, informed. They can see what is going on in our country and around the world in real-time. Narratives about what is going around them is no longer limited to the accounts provided in the daily newspaper or nightly newscast. When Washington DC tells us that there is a threat coming from overseas, they can read articles and watch videos online that can provide a wealth of perspectives on the purported threat. The past generations had a window to their front yard. The post-internet generations have grown up with a window to the world. Past generations grew up thinking in terms of their block or their town. Recent generations have grown up thinking in terms of oceans and continents.
We have allowed our society to decay as well. We no longer value what used to be known as the nuclear family. Marriages are temporary, easily entered into and just as easily abandoned. Children are often forced to raise themselves because their parents are too busy or too distracted to do it. Organized religion has lost its credibility. A man is no longer a man nor a woman a woman. Science has been used to make us prisoners in our own homes around the world. The net result is that nothing means anything anymore. Younger generations can no longer count on anything because it is all so transitory. This overall dystopian experience has now found its way into our military. Instead of being focused on creating the best warriors, and our national defense, we are crushed under the weight of social policies. Our country has failed to stay committed to defending such basic things as truth and the existence of anything greater than our own humanity. The only thing we are held accountable to anymore is the threat of being cancelled by social media. It is our own fault. We have failed to stand up and defend the things that once made us a great Nation. We no longer speak the truth. We don’t even defend our own borders. When we hear someone say something that we know is a lie, we don’t reject it anymore. We smile and say that we respect their opinion, even though we don’t. Every solid house requires a solid foundation. We have allowed ours to decay and it is beginning to crumble.
Finally, there has been the immoral and reckless deployment of our troops. Once we had the threat of any one empire rising too high on any continent outside North America, we chose to push on. First, we entangled ourselves in guerilla proxy wars, Stars and Stripes vs. The Hammer and Sickle. Then as Wall Street learned how lucrative the business of war could be, Washington suddenly found reasons to defend ourselves from farmers and sheepherders located in the middle of nowhere. Let us not forget our commitment to becoming the world’s global police and human services departments. Let’s not place too much pressure on the global community to work together to make the world safer for everyone. Let’s just keep telling the world that the US can afford the costs in both money and lives, we can pay that tab. I’m pretty sure most parents out there are no longer willing to send their children off to return in pieces, physically and emotionally, for the sole purpose of enriching the portfolios of those who profit directly from the decision to deploy them.
My comments might be too strong to be published. I argue that some strongly worded truth is exactly what this country needs. We need to stand up and speak the truth and stop pretending that lies are not lies. America was made great by the nurturing of our families and the strength of our industrial might. Our youth need to be raised in a real world, with real borders and real consequences for their actions. As long as we stand by and let our youth be raised by cell phones and tablets, our Nation will continue to erode. As long as truth is relative and placed along an ever-shifting line, being American and the very value of life will continue to fall away. We need to stop voting for the people who have all of the pretty words, and start voting for people that we know and have a proven, documented history of doing what is right. From our cities and towns, to Washington, we must start demanding a higher standard for our politicians. We need to stop treating it all like a reality show and accepting the absurdity of it all as just politics. It is not entertainment, it is the future of our Nation, if we are to even have one.