Does the US military have an anti-gay, pro-Christian, pro-republican culture?

Question

I have never been in the military. I intend to join up right after the Bush twins do.

I have been told that the US military makes it very clear to its members that the correct way to think is anti-gay, pro-Christian, and pro- republican.

True or not?

Answer 1

I was in over 15 years ago, Fall of the Berlin Wall/Desert Storm time period, and the times were different then. Definitely, it was overwhelmingly Republican among the white soldiers, but Ron Paul style Republican. Minorities tended to be conservative democrats, or RON PAUL style Republicans. I knew a few true, right-wing Christian whack-jobs, and they were pretty much scorned and mocked by everybody else. I used to get a modest among of **** because I was like the only guy in my barracks who recycled, but I didn't get the same amount of **** as the preachy Christian types did. To be honest, we were infantry grunts, and we didn't think our political opinions were very relevant one way or another. We were more likely to argue about rock bands or sports than politics. Most guys carried a Bible--I think pretty much everybody. We had little Gideon deals that you could tuck in your chest pocket over your heart. A lot of guys I knew carried rosary beads, too, even though we weren't Catholic. We figured it couldn't hurt.

It was definitely an anti-gay culture, in a casual, sort of way. When you have guys in their late teens and early 20's and make them into people who exist for no reason other than to kill other people, it creates a sense of hyper-masculinity. Before the Cold War ended, we even used to call ourselves "*****"--Dedicated Infantry Commie Killers. I've known people who served in more normal, "career" type MOSes, who have told me they served with gay people and it was never known about, or that nobody seemed to care about homosexuality one way or another. I don't think an openly gay guy would be able to serve in the infantry--not back when I was in, and I'd be surprised if that has changed.

Answer 2

In my experience people who join the military are typically more conservative than the general public politically speaking. During the 1990s you wouldn't find many people in a typical army unit that liked Bill Clinton but it was not because of social issues but because of how he felt about the military and how they percieved his treatment of them. We got tiny raises and more than a few scares about not getting paid as budget deadlines loomed. When Bush came in, he pushed for one time targeted raises that were sizeable and then there were a few years of good raises that I hear have slowed down.
There were a lot of religious people in during my time. They went to church every Sunday and so forth but not all were Christian (most were). Everyone knew who the lesbian/bi women were- it was no secret at all because they were always fighting- literally. Don't ask, don't tell is a fair common ground but I do know a couple people who falsely claimed to be gay just to get out of the service and avoid a less than desirable overseas tour.

So yes the military is more conservative- whether that be republican or a conservative democrat but no one is forced to vote one way or the other just as no one is forced to practice a certain faith.

Answer 3

The military is composed of various people from different cultures and walks of life.

In the military you are expected to obey and respect the commander and chief, he is your leader, and you are there to follow his or her orders. That is the extent of the political affiliation of the military. In that respect I there are democrats, republican, independents and those who opt not to be involved in politics.

Anti-gay may be a bit of an overstatement. Certainly there is the don't ask, don't tell policy. How you are treated, if you have a different lifestyle, doesn't depend upon the military it is more a function of the men and women you are stationed with.

Answer 4

Well lets see, if you openly admit to being gay, or doing anything that can be taken as being gay, you are on your way out the door. People used it to get discharged when I was at boot camp.
You get nothing with caffeine in it, sweets, or anything else that would be considered unnecessary, unless you go to church where they pass out that kind of thing on Sundays.
If you don't go, you get to do the work that everyone else isn't doing while at church.

just more boot camp brainwashing, I guess.
Offending a higher ranking officer, is the last thing you need while serving, and a political discussion, is a most certain way to do so, if you don't agree with everything he/she believes.
If you do, what is the use of having the discussion?

Answer 5

Emphatically NOT TRUE!

I was in the Army for 7 years and I can honestly say that I have never had any discussions about politics, religion or sexual orientation. The atmosphere of political correctness is so great that it would be career suicide if there was any attempt to profess such things. They fear of being brought up on charges is much greater that the desire to evangelize any particular ideology.

I think that there are basically two types of soldiers. Those who sign up for their own personal benefit and those who are there for ideological reasons. Those who are there for Ideological reasons tend to be more conservative and are attracted to ideals such as personal service and sacrifice or by the romance and adventure that the military can offer. These people tend to gravitate to jobs such as combat arms (actual war fighters). Those who are there for personal reasons such as financial benefits tend to be more liberal. these folks tend to work in jobs such as administrative, healthcare or support roles such as information technology.

It is also my observation that many enlist for personal reasons, but will move toward the ideological side as they mature. Remember that most people are 18 or 19 when they first decide to join and they have very little life experience.

Being in the military tends to mature people much faster than college or civilian life in general.

The military overwhelmingly support Republicans because the Republicans overwhelmingly support the military. Good liberals secretly despise the military, though they are not politically able to admit it. The Liberal idea is that we can make nice with Kim Jung Il or Amedemajad by sending him a fruit basket. Neville Chamberlin was a good liberal.

The other two points, anti-gay and pro-Christian stances are American, not simply Military. In fact most of the world does not support the gay lifestyle, though they are not politically allowed to openly admit that, whether they are Christian or not. In most countries, it's not even an issue because there is such a stigma associated with being gay that it doesn't even enter the thought process. It's just assumed that people aren't gay. When Amedemajad said "there aren't any Gays in Iran", he was probably mostly right. Of course there are a few, but if they are discovered, they are swiftly killed so the ones that do not wish to die will hide it at all costs.

Most Americans are Christians and this is separate from the military culture.

Answer 6

Well, I can see you have an open mind about the subject, so very liberal of you. There is a tendency to more pro Republican since heck, they hold the military in less contempt than Democrats. Oddly every time a Dem is in the White House military seem to lose money to tree hugging programs. As a former military chaplain assistant, I was required to not only carry bibles for soldiers, but the Koran, Jewish prayer books and even Buddhist prayer beads, depending on the religious makeup of the solider in the unit. As for anti-gay, well, that view is changing as societies acceptance changes.

And please don't volunteer we have plenty of good men and women that do for the correct reasons.

Answer 7

You are completly of the mark, in fact I would say that you are off your rocker.

A few places have been accused of pressing religon on people, in my lifetime of being an Army brat and 11 years in the Navy I have never witnissed this.

As far as anti gay, that is far of the rocker too. As servicemembers most of us dont care what you do. But there is a policy that we have to follow. I have worked with many gay sailors, and they were just like any other sailor, some were good some were terrible. The policy is in effect, for the most part, to curb the kind of publicly devient sexual behavior I have seen at gay pride parades.

As for politically leanings to the right and left. Many serviceman do not discuss politics at work if it does not directly effect work. In general a democrat in office means we get bigger pay raises, but less funding for programs, training, and equipment. The also have a tendency to make drastic cuts to our most vital asset, manpower. When republicans generally are the exact opposite. My 2007 pay raise was the smallest I have had in 7 years, but we seem to have enough funding for good training, equipment that is not worn out, and plenty of personnel to accomplish the mission. More pay does not compensate for the level of strain caused by the cuts intended to save money.

Answer 8

Untrue

As in civilian life Military members are free to practice religion or not..There are many Democrats as well as Republicans and even some Libertarians in the Military..

They do have a gay policy that some find repressive, but so does civilian society.

None of these facts are my personal view.

Answer 9

Probably by a 85-15 percent coorelation, 70-30 at the best. Surveys are useless tools for this type of information. If I were in the military, I would fill out the surveys the way the chain of command wants me to since all surveys are monitored.

Answer 10

Christians make up 33% of the people on this earth..gays are a special interest group..and

the 500,000 US military enlistees don't need a acidic-brain that is full of hatred..that talks smack and infers generalities about other groups like some cheerlead and actually have empathy lined up on his behalf