American Public Opinion About the Military
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
by Joseph Carroll
Confidence in the Military
Gallup's annual update on confidence in American institutions, conducted May 23-26, finds that the military ranks at the top of the list, with nearly three in four Americans (74%) saying they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the military. Only two other institutions -- the police and the church or organized religion -- score above 50% on this measure in this year's survey.
Historically, the military has scored highly. In 1975, when Gallup first asked this question, 58% of Americans said they were confident in the military -- ranking it second behind organized religion in that poll. Ratings of the military were lowest in 1981, at 50%, but the military still ranked second in that poll. Confidence was highest in 1991, at 85%, about a month after the Persian Gulf War ended.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, confidence in the military has been at historically high levels. After the June 2001 reading of 66% -- typical of where it had been since the late 1980s -- it reached 79% in 2002, 82% in 2003, and 75% in 2004.
Honesty and Ethical Standards of Military Officers
Every year, Gallup also asks Americans to rate the honesty and ethical standards of various professions in the country. The most recent update -- from a Nov. 19-21, 2004, poll -- showed military officers tied for third place, along with pharmacists, on the list of professions. Seventy-two percent of Americans said the honesty and ethical standards of military officers are "very high" or "high." The professions that ranked higher than military officers were nurses (79%) and grade school teachers (73%).
Gallup has asked about the honesty and ethical standards of military officers only twice. In 2002, military officers ranked third on the list, behind nurses and pharmacists. That poll found 65% of Americans rating the honesty and ethical standards of military officers as very high or high.
Women in the Military
A May 20-22 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll asked Americans whether they supported or opposed having women serve in three different military capacities. The results show that Americans are least likely to support having women serve as the ground troops who are doing most of the fighting -- 44% are in favor and 54% opposed. Two in three adults nationwide (67%) say they favor having women serve in combat zones as support for the ground troops; about a third (32%) oppose this. Americans express the highest support for having women serve "anywhere in Iraq," with 72% supporting and 27% opposing this.
The poll found some interesting gender differences. Men are more likely than women to favor having women serve anywhere in Iraq (77% vs. 68%) and to favor having women serve in combat zones as support for ground troops (70% vs. 63%). Women are just slightly more likely than men to favor having women serve as ground troops who are doing most of the fighting (47% vs. 42%), although a majority of both groups oppose having women serve in this role.