Bush Assails the JAG Corps = Politization of military promotions

[L. Coyote]

Bush Assails the JAG Corps
Scott Horton - Dec 16, 2007 - http://harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001929

One of the myths of the Bush Administration goes to its relation with the military. The facts are very stark. This Administration consists largely of men and women who evaded military service and who have little respect for those who serve in uniform. They have a passion for heavy-handed use of the military, for foreign escapades which they pursue with little planning and shoddy design, but they are uninterested in taking the advice of the career military about how to pursue these matters. Their mantra is consistent: We know better. But in fact it should be: We know nothing.

The men and women who serve in uniform generally reflect the nation as a whole in most respects, including in political outlook. However, the fact is that the military has always been a bit more conservative than the country as a whole. Its demographic has also been skewered. For the officer corps, the Southeast has consistently been over represented. And for the enlisted ranks, it has in recent years drawn more heavily from exurban and rural areas. This reflects a number of factors—a culture which romanticizes military service, more limited economic opportunities among them—but these groups are disproportionately Republican. And the military has therefore tended to be more Republican in its outlook than the country as a whole. The officers corps fairly dramatically so.

Polling shows these numbers are changing. That’s largely the result of a sense that the military is disrespected by the Bush Republicans, and that its role is abused. Just looking at the headlines over the last week, a fairly typical one, we see that in a number of stories. For instance .........

[napi21]

1. I doubt this is anything new. I don't know about the JAG corps, but

anyone who was ever in the military knows you don't advance to any high rank without playing politics!