Quote Originally Posted by Norfolk View Post
I'll take the bait.

First off. If you walked into the lines of any Combat Arms unit in the English-speaking world, and asked for a show of hands of who was right-wing, most of the hands would go up; when you asked who was left wing, maybe a few defiant, or embarrassed individuals might raise their hands, to the (at best) the jeering of all the rest or (just as likely) the general annoyance of said. In general, I doubt that you would be able to find very many individuals, especially inside the Combat Arms, who would admit to be "left-wing". Even outside the Combat Arms, the troops tend to be right-wing in their views.
My suspicion based on my sons units in the last few years is that you are correct. I think in the US the percentage of more liberal types may be slightly larger in the ranks but not much so. Interesting corollary from this old guy is that in my day, politics and such were just not discussed at all. Times change...

The Officer Corps, even though they are perhaps more likely (I suspect) to have individuals of leftist persuasion in their midst, not only tend to be rightist in their persuasions, but over the last generation or so a discernible "hardening" into right-wing tendencies has visibly occurred.
My sensing is that is also true though i suspect that if one asked the Officers for a party preference it would fall out pretty much in accord with civil society norms; to wit, a third each Democratic, Republican and Independent.

Your second paragraph is totally correct in my observation. As is the third.

Fourth... Thus, the Military attracts, and is seen to be attractive to, those of the Right, and repellant to, those of the Left.
Too true. As is your fifth, I think.

marc is correct about his suspicions with regard to existing social conditions and individual identity. But given the fact that social scientists aren't exactly beating down the Military's doors to get in and do serious, open-minded research and study on the matter, there's not a lot of serious, objective, documented proof on this. Just the testimony of those who are or have been in, the Military.

I think that the Composition, much more so than the Size and Structure, of the military is most affected by this; but is has a lesser, though real impact on the latter matters.
I'd also suggest that some degree of that polarization has always been there, certainly was in my day. It is slightly greater today and we're just much more vocal about it now. More vocal about everything, in fact...