I think the opinion findings from our recent surveys are the most interesting parts of this @WarOnTheRocks piece.

Here are highlights on the use of force, shared values, confidence, party, the Insurrection Act, mil entitlement, missions & Afghanistan. 1/ https://warontherocks.com/2021/01/biden-inherits-a-challenging-civil-military-legacy/

“In general, veterans were more reluctant to express support for the use of military force than civilian respondents, but civilians were more likely to favor troop limits or other restrictions when troops were deployed.” 2/

“In 2014, nearly 80 percent of all respondents reported that political leaders do not share the public’s values. In contrast, nearly three-quarters of Americans expressed confidence in the military, with only small differences between civilian and veteran populations.” 3/

“In 2020, approximately 69 percent of Americans express “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military, down slightly from 74 percent in 2019 and 2014. Even at 69 percent, esteem for the military is higher than it is for any other national institution.” 4/

“The public’s confidence in the military is highly conditioned on partisanship, with 82 percent of Republicans expressing confidence in the military compared to just 60 percent of Democrats, reflecting a five-point larger difference between parties than in 2014.” 5/

“Biden’s slice of the electorate in 2020 also contains large groups that harbor serious concerns about the military. Only 53 percent of self-identified liberals express confidence ... with confidence dropping below 49 percent for both women liberals and non-white liberals.” 6/

“Our research suggests even these numbers may overstate the public’s true confidence in the military by as much as 20 percentage points due to social pressure, however. Yet, the fact that many Americans feel this pressure is itself a sign of the military’s influence.” 7/

“As many as 57 percent of veterans told us they would support the use of active duty troops if protests continued compared to only 41 percent of civilians.” 8/

“We primed a subset of respondents with reports suggesting the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff opposed the use of active duty troops. The views of civilians who received this prompt did not change ... but support among veterans who received this prompt dropped 8 points.” 9/

“62 percent of all veterans and 66 percent of post-9/11 veterans agreed with the statement, ‘Civilians who have not been to war should not question those who have.’ In contrast, 42 percent of civilians agreed with the statement while only 30 percent disagreed.” 10/

“A full 60 percent of post-9/11 veterans “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the eligible Americans who did not volunteer to serve during wartime should feel guilty compared to just 43 percent of older veterans and 22 percent of civilians.” 11/

“Veteran respondents in our survey are more likely to believe the military’s most important role is to compete with great powers like China and Russia, especially when compared to Democratic respondents. Veteran respondents are also more hawkish on Iran than civilians.” 12/

“They also tend to be more optimistic on the success of military operations in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 13 percent of all civilians and 10 percent of Democrats agreed that these operations have been “very successful,” but 24 percent of post-9/11 vets said the same.” 13/

“44 percent of post-9/11 veterans “agree” or “strongly agree” that the United States has accomplished its goals in Afghanistan while 39 percent “disagree” or “strongly disagree.” Older veterans and civilians break 30-47 and 21-39, respectively.” 14/

“Post-9/11 vets are also particularly supportive of troop reductions...with 54 percent in support and 29 percent against. A 40 percent plurality of civilians chose “no opinion” when asked about troop reductions/success. Most Americans simply are not paying much attention.” 15/15