An article in the Christian Science Monitor about registering Americans overseas http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0915/p06s03-wogn.html?s=hns
says:

"It is also believed that military personnel overseas - who turn out in higher percentages than the national average - tend to vote Republican."

Is that true? It's one thing to obey the orders of your CinC, but I have a hard time believing that military personnel would support so blindly a president who sent them into this particular war...

sad....but true. :cry: I think it's a lot easier to believe what you're told than to formulate a thought and all that goes with it. It's all about god bless america...and no place else

I realized after I posted it that my original message might have seemed more provocatory than I intended. I am genuinely curious about the answer, because this "fact" keeps getting quoted at me, but no one has even shown me statistics to support it. And I don't think "the military" is as homogeneous as all that.

I'm a member of a few message boards that have a large percentage of military families as members. These members usually end their posts with a "Bush/Cheney 2004" signature. I didn't/don't get it either.

I don't know how much of this applies to US politics, but at elast here in italy people who join the army or the Police are usually more right-wing oriented (unless they join it out of mere need for a job). Do think about what an army is: it's a structure where the concept of participative democracy is utterly nonexistsent (with three short live examples that I know of: Cromwell's new model army, the original Red Army and the POUM militia during the Spain Civil War), the structure is strictly gerarchic and the orders given by a superior cannot be discussed. It's something that does not usually appeal a liberal or a radical (or an anarchist, or a socialist). Besides, armies can be used (not that they are always used thus, obviously) to repress revolutions or generally peaking pupular upheavals, and sometimes (see southern America recent history) to create golpes and fascist regimes. Not may left wingers would be much attracted by that kind of context.

I am going to stay away from politics, but will say that in America people join the military for many reasons, not the least of which is education. Some people use it to get where they want to go. The person who joins NOW versus the person who joins in non-war times would be a different profile. Career military have a different profile too than those who join to get an education. Everyone has choices and those who want to get an education in this country who may not otherwise be able to afford it (or whatever) may choose military.

There is another viewpoint that is expressed by Randi Rhodes that makes sense, though most people don't see it that way...

"...And believe me, they teach liberalism, because they say that the weakest guy in your unit can get you killed... So it's your job as a strong leader to reach down to those who have a tough time."

Washington Post, Sunday September 12, 2204; Page W11

(You can read the article about the Air America host after a free registration with the paper.)

The culture, norms and priorities of the military are necessarily different than the civillian population at large, though the sense of social bonds and responsibility to others are just as great, if not greater.