I have come across an article in The New Republic concerning the military and political opinions within its ranks. While we picture the armed forces as being a particularly conservative institution, the reality is more complex. The author, an infantry officer in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, found that top brass tend to lean heavily Republican. Non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel, however, are aligned pretty similarly with the nation at large. I recommend a full read.
This discussion reminded me of the Pat Tillman story. For those unfamiliar, Tillman was an NFL safety who passed up big bucks and volunteered for service in the Army after September 11th. He was killed in action in 2004 in the mountains of Afghanistan as a result of a friendly fire accident. Two weeks after his death and story became big news, left-wing cartoonist Ted Rall published a cartoon showing Tillman signing up for service because he just wanted to “get to kill Arabs.” Rall was forced to admit that he too easily prejudged Tillman’s political views after revelations came out that Tillman privately opposed the Iraq war and read his share of Noam Chomsky.
–Dan Rozenson
