Wearing Politics on Their Sleeves? Levels of Political Activism of Active Duty Army Officers

摘要

This article sought to break down the politicization charge and dissect Army officers' level of political participation and interest and to what extent politics is truly brought into the workplace. These survey findings offer the following key takeaways. First, voting appears to have become almost a sacred obligation within the officer corps, with over 80 percent voting and actively encouraging others in uniform to do the same. Nine of the ten feel the military should vote, and there appears to be little to no appetite for having the military abstain from voting to preserve an image of nonpartisanship. On the contrary, as the government and the military constantly work to remove obstacles to registration and voting overseas, it is likely that the armed forces will continue to view voting as a duty. The military at all levels has placed command emphasis on affording all service members the opportunity to vote, and the example set by George Marshall, while noble, appears to be an artifact that holds little sway among officers serving today.