Can the US military recover its reputation?

Recent polling suggests that the last American institution with broad support and respect has now squandered it.

Can the US military recover its reputation?

The Ronald Reagan Institute just announced that public confidence in the military has continued its precipitous drop. The institute’s November 2021 poll found that only 45 percent of those polled report “a great deal of trust and confidence in the military” — down 25 points in three years. The institute adds “Increasing numbers of Americans say they have little or not much confidence in the military, which is up 15 points in the last three years.”

What oh what could have caused this?

It was likely the chaotic retreat from Kabul in August — the first time the American people witnessed a defeat in real-time — that pushed the poll numbers lower. Added to that were the deaths of 13 service members killed by a suicide bomber at the gate of Kabul’s airport as they worked to speed the humanitarian evacuation. Of the 13, 12 were in their 20s, and all were volunteers.

I've been shocked at how my respect for the military has declined precipitously over the past few years, and I'm a gray-area retiree and Veteran.

 

Soon ? I really doubt it. The Vietnam, Irak and Afghanistan war have all been wide disasters.
In a global manner, I suppose thay the lack of trust toward politicians, police and other authorities figure won't help.

 

More importantly, will the United States ever recover its reputation?

 

Among the American people?

 

Among the world.

 

In my experience, there is little problem with "The American People". Other than the usual groups that always hate the military. Normally the Far-Right and Far-left who want to remake the country into their own image.

 

Overstatement on your part.

 

I don't think you'll be shocked to learn that I'm far less interested in the "world's" view.

 

I may be wrong but all of these had a major impact on the image of the USA. Obviously it remain a very powerfull country and the technological power of the USA can't be underestimated.
However the symbolic aspect of Irak and Afghanistan can't be underestimated. For Irak it's more a humanitarian failure, and even if it's itself a victory against S.Hussein, the collapse of Irak thereafter, the birth of ISIS are major failures. U.S army came to bring peace and stability and what was born ? ISIS, one of the most despicable organization of those recent times.
Afghanistan is a deep wound also. The USA entered in war against the talibans to avenge their death, and 20 years after they have to retreat in front of those superstitious goatkeepers. Considering the amount of money invested in this war, the number of american people killed or wounded, It's a disaster.
Vietnam is still a communist history and even if it was a major loss, in the end it have been compensated by the fall of USSR and the fact that China became capitalist, the symbolic weight of this victory tend to overshadow the one of the vietnam defeat. Furthermore, american movie directors created great movies about this war. The ability of creating artistic value of a tragic moment can help "inverse" the situation. Making of a loss an artistic "victory". But I don't see the same for Irak and Afghanistan.
I'm ready to read proves I am wrong, I'm not the biggest military expert but I have difficulties to see how you can deny the depth of those symbolic wounds.

 

Trust In Military Collapsing

Major points:

It would be interesting to poll the public to ask why people are losing confidence in the military. Absent those data, hazarding a guess would probably be projecting one’s own gripes onto the situation. My sense is that it has a lot to do with the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, because I am not sure how aware people are of the Afghanistan Papers, and what they revealed about how much the US military brass lied for years about the situation there. If more people did know about the Afghanistan Papers, then that would definitely suppress confidence. You can’t blame what’s there on Joe Biden, Donald Trump, or any president, not really. That’s all on the senior US military leadership.

And

So many military people — active duty, or recently retired — I’ve met this year in my travels in the US, or who have written to me privately, tell me that they warn folks to stay away from the woke military. Obviously this is anecdotal, but I hear it so often that I believe it reflects a genuine larger trend. If you are conservative, or white, or religious, or some combination thereof, why would you want to put your life on the line to serve an institution whose leadership and whose policies hold you in contempt, or at least consider you to be a culturally backward heathen in need of conversion to wokeness?

 

The military fights when it is told to do so. It stops fighting when it is told to do so. Where it goes and when it comes home are decisions made by their civilian masters in the White and Congress.

Now, having said that. let me talk about "reputation". I was proud to wear my Army uniform for the many years I wore it. But things are changing. The left wing "wokies" have penetrated the military at every level and worn away long held traditions embodied in the West Point motto "Duty, Honor, Country". I am a West Point graduate and am devastated that West Point has taken time from instruction which can lead to victory and given it to the racist study of Critical Race Theory, "equity", and diversity. I hope that we will be able to defeat future enemies on the battlefield by discussing these things with them as they kill us with superior weapons and tactics.

 

Spot On! I am acutely aware of this. Lloyd Austin is, regrettably, a West Point classmate of mine.

 

Something I heard decades ago, a top general claimed that the most dangerous thing to the US national security was the national debt.
I think ultimately his words will prove to be true. A country can't run a big military when it does not have the finances to do so and is deep in debt.
There are numerous historical examples of this.

 

Absolutely true. The introduction of the LONG BOW at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 revolutionized military operations at the time. All armies had to do to respond was build new bows. Now, when our enemies introduce new stuff like "hypervelocity weapons", or new communications software, or an armed satellite, it can take hundreds of millions of dollars to counter their move.

But it really doesn't matter. The leftists have decimated the military with its COVID mandates. The vax mandate has already removed more warriors from our military than the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor and Bataan COMBINED.

 

Money? Maybe. But U.S. personnel losses in Afghanistan were light by any measure. Until the 13 killed during the withdrawal we didn't lose anyone in the last year there.

 

Where do we begin? A year ago:

1. From what I understand, they purged the military of the conservatives. They may not have voted for Biden!
2. I'm betting, regardless of what we're told, that enlistments are down. Conservative minded youth most likely aren't enlisting. And I can't picture the liberal kids taking classes during the day and sitting in their parents' basements posting on political forums at night enlisting much.
3. Readiness? I doubt it. For the past year, the military has been concentrating on white rage (whatever that is), transgender troops, and maternity flight suits.
4. Oh, and don't forget the heroes who were purged because of vaccine mandates.

I have a strong military background in my family. But I'm not optimistic.

 

I don't know how, simply due to relativism, the performance of Russia's military-- long regarded as the world's second best-- now on display in Ukraine, doesn't automatically lift up the reputation of the U.S. forces.

 

After Biden I highly doubt it

 

Lmao it was a huge moral failure. Not only did we run like whipped dogs. We left so fast and unprepared that we left our functional military equipment to a terrorist group. That was not a withdrawal, that was not even an evacuation, that was a total butt kicking. Thank you cowardly Biden

you’ve heard of the cowardly lion right? Now we’ve got the cowardly Biden.

 

Trump attacked war heroes, gold star families, ect.... on and on, no wonder

Trump even pocketed a man's Purple Heart like it was nothing

 

I dont have any trust in the military leadership. But I never have. Thats why I didnt join.

We cant win foreign wars because we're not supposed to win. Winning isn't profitable compared to endless fighting. If we ever have a war that we have to win, I think we'll see something different.

Wars that we dont have to win probably shouldnt be fought in the first place.

 

@AARguy @Nightmare515 I appreciate all of your remarks on this thread. Your perspectives are from an insider’s point of view, and you have explained those views very well.

But I still think the general public respects those who are serving and those who have served in the past.

In my opinion, where the lack of respect lies is with the present leadership, and the events surrounding the withdrawal from Afghanistan are a major reason for that. The worst thing they did to tarnish their image was to lie to the American people. They lied about the willingness of the Afghan army to fight. Then they lied about the drone strike that killed a pro-American Afghan family. They only admitted to what they did after a news crew uncovered the truth. I blame Biden, his advisors, the Secretary of Defense, and the top generals for perpetrating those lies.

And I also think there is a malaise in our country that is not the fault of the military, and the general dissatisfaction with and distrust of our government probably bleeds over somewhat onto the image of the military. That is undeserved but predictable.

But the bottom line is that if the military is less respected than it used to be, the leadership is to blame, starting with the President. And I must say that I am disgusted with the generals who are willing to trade their integrity for career security and advancement. Utterly disgusted.

Remember that Marine Lt Col who they jailed and threw out of the service for publicly demanding that there be accountability for the 13 killed at Kabul Airport? He had guts. THERE is a military leader. I respect THAT guy.