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Trend: Is the Government in Washington Spending Too Little, About the Right Amount, or Too Much on National Defense?

Trend: Is the National Defense Now Stronger Than It Needs to Be, Not Strong Enough, or About Right?

Now I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one -- a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little? First, ... Next, [RANDOM ORDER]

The military

	Great deal	Quite a lot	Some	Very little	None (vol.)	No opin- ion	Great deal/ Quite a lot
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
2011 Jun 9-12	47	31	16	3	*	1	78
2010 Jul 8-11	44	32	18	4	1	1	76
2009 Jun 14-17	45	37	12	5	*	1	82
2008 Jun 9-12	45	26	20	7	1	1	71
2007 Jun 11-14	39	30	21	8	1	*	69
2006 Jun 1-4	41	32	19	5	1	1	73
2005 May 23-26	42	32	18	7	1	*	74
2004 May 21-23	36	39	19	5	*	1	75
2003 Jun 9-10	48	34	14	4	*	*	82
2002 Jun 21-23	43	36	16	5	*	*	79
2001 Jun 8-10	32	34	24	6	2	2	66
2000 Jun 22-25	25	39	26	7	1	2	64
1999 Jun 25-27	34	34	26	6	*	*	68
1998 Jun 5-7	33	31	25	8	1	2	64
1997 Jul 25-27	30	30	27	10	2	1	60
1996 May 28-29	30	36	25	7	*	2	66
1995 Apr 21-24	33	31	27	7	1	1	64
1994 Mar 25-29	30	34	26	8	*	2	64
1993 Mar 22-24	32	35	23	8	1	1	67
1991 Oct 10-13	35	34	20	8	1	3	69
1991 Feb 28-Mar 3	52	33	11	3	*	1	85
1990 Aug 16-19	37	31	22	7	1	2	68
1989 Sep 7-10	31	32	26	9	*	3	63
1988 Sep 23-26	23	35	30	9	1	2	58
1987 Jul 10-13	24	37	28	9	1	2	61
1986 Jul 11-14	29	34	24	10	1	2	63
1985 May 17-20	24	37	28	8	1	2	61
1984 Oct 6-10	28	30	24	15	--	2	58
1983 Aug 5-8	23	30	29	12	1	5	53
1981 Nov 20-23	22	28	29	14	6	2	50
1979 Apr 6-9	25	29	29	14	1	3	54
1977 Jan 7-10	23	34	25	11	1	6	57
1975 May 30-Jun 2	27	31	25	11	1	5	58
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Just off the top of your head, which of the five branches of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the most prestigious and has the most status in our society today -- [ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, (or) the Coast Guard]?

BASED ON 506 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

	Air Force	Army	Navy	Marines	Coast Guard	All same (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
2011 Jun 9-12 ^	15	22	8	46	2	5	2
2004 May 21-23	20	15	8	44	5	5	3
2002 Apr 22-24	28	13	13	39	1	4	2
2001 May 18-20 ^	32	11	14	36	--	4	3
^ WORDING: Just off the top of your head, which of the four major branches of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the most prestigious and has the most status in our society today -- [ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, (or) the Marines]?

Just off the top of your head, which of the five branches of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the most important to our national defense today -- [ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, (or) the Coast Guard]?

BASED ON 496 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B

	Air Force	Army	Navy	Marines	Coast Guard	All same (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
2011 Jun 9-12 ^	17	25	11	24	3	16	3
2004 May 21-23	23	25	9	23	4	12	4
2002 Apr 22-24	36	18	17	16	1	10	2
2001 May 18-20 ^	42	18	15	14	--	9	2
(vol.) = Volunteered response
^ WORDING: Just off the top of your head, which of the four major branches of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the most important to our national defense today-- [ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, (or) the Marines]?

There is much discussion as to the amount of money the government in Washington should spend for national defense and military purposes. How do you feel about this? Do you think we are spending too little, about the right amount, or too much?

	Too little	About right	Too much	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2011 Feb 2-5	22	35	39	3
2010 Feb 1-3	27	36	34	2
2009 Feb 9-12	24	41	31	4
2008 Feb 11-14	22	30	44	3
2007 Feb 1-4	20	35	43	2
2006 Feb 6-9	25	40	32	3
2005 Feb 7-10	30	38	30	2
2004 Feb 9-12	22	45	31	2
2003 Feb 3-6	25	44	27	4
2002 Feb 4-6	33	48	17	2
2001 Feb 1-4	41	38	19	2
2000 Aug 24-27	40	34	20	6
2000 May 18-21	31	44	22	3
1999 May 7-9	28	35	32	5
1998 Nov 20-22	26	45	22	7
1993 Mar 29-31	17	38	42	3
1990 Jan 4-7	9	36	50	5
1987 Apr 10-13	14	36	44	6
1986 Mar 4-10	13	36	47	4
1985 Jan 25-28	11	36	46	7
1983 Sep 9-12	21	36	37	6
1982 Nov 5-8	16	31	41	12
1981 Jan 27	51	22	15	12
1976 Jan 23-26	22	32	36	10
1973 Sep 21-24	13	30	46	11
1971 Mar 11-14	11	31	50	8
1969 Nov 12-17	8	31	52	9

Do you, yourself, feel that our national defense is stronger now than it needs to be, not strong enough, or about right at the present time?

	Stronger than needs to be	Not strong enough	About right	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2011 Feb 2-5	11	37	50	2
2010 Feb 1-3	7	45	46	1
2009 Feb 9-12	6	37	54	3
2008 Feb 11-14	10	47	41	2
2007 Feb 1-4	8	46	43	2
2006 Feb 6-9	7	43	47	3
2005 Feb 7-10	9	40	49	2
2004 Feb 9-12	10	34	54	2
2003 Feb 3-6 ^	13	34	52	1
2002 Feb 4-6	6	43	50	1
2001 Feb 1-4	7	44	48	1
2000 May 18-21	6	38	55	1
2000 Jan 13-16	6	39	52	3
1999 May 7-9	7	42	48	3
1990 Jan 4-7	16	17	64	3
1984 ^	15	36	46	3

^ Asked of a half sample
† Gallup/Newsweek

Do you think the United States is number one in the world militarily, or that it is only one of several leading military powers?

	U.S. is number one	U.S. is one of several	Neither (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2010 Jan 8-10	64	34	*	1

2007 Feb 1-4	60	39	*	1
2000 May 18-21	56	41	*	3
1999 May 7-9	51	46	1	2
1993 Mar 29-31	63	34	1	2
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

In twenty years, do you think the United States will be -- number one in the world militarily, only one of several leading military powers, or not among the leading military powers in the world?

	U.S. will be No. 1	U.S. will be one of several	U.S. not among leading powers	No opinion
2010 Jan 8-10	36%	56	6	1

Which do you think is more likely over the next 20 years -- [ROTATED: the U.S. will have combat troops actively fighting in various countries around the world on a regular basis, (or) there will be long periods of time in which the U.S. does not have combat troops actively fighting in other countries]?

	Active fighting on regular basis	Long periods with no active fighting	No opinion
2010 Jan 8-10	67%	30	2

Do you think women should or should not be allowed to hold combat jobs in the U.S. armed forces?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
2007 Sep 7-8	74%	23	3

Do you think the United States should return to the military draft at this time, or not?

	Yes	No	No opinion
	%	%	%
2007 Aug 13-16	18	80	2
2004 Oct 11-14	14	85	1
2003 Oct 24-26	17	80	3
2003 Jan 3-5 ^	27	69	4
1998 Jun 5-7	16	81	3
1981 Jul 31-Aug 3	48	45	7
1980 Jul 11-14	58	34	7
1980 Feb 1-4	59	36	5

^ Asked of a half sample

Thinking now about the equipment U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq need to protect themselves from injury,

(Asked of a half sample) How good of a job do you think this equipment does in protecting the U.S. troops from injury -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

	Excellent	Good	Only fair	Poor	No opinion
2007 Aug 3-5	8%	33	34	18	7

(Asked of a half sample) How good of a job do you think the Defense Department has done in getting this equipment to the troops in a timely manner -- excellent, good, only fair, or poor?

	Excellent	Good	Only fair	Poor	No opinion
2007 Aug 3-5	2%	24	37	30	7

As you may know, under the current military policy, no one in the military is asked whether or not they are gay. But if they reveal that they are gay or they engage in homosexual activity, they will be discharged from the military. Do you personally think -- [ROTATED: gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military, gays should be allowed to serve under the current policy, or gays should not be allowed to serve in the military under any circumstances]?

	Serve openly	Serve under current policy	Not serve under any circumstances	No opinion
2007 Jul 6-8	46%	36	15	3
2000 Jan 13-16 ^	41%	38	17	4

^ WORDING: As you may know, under the current military policy, no one in the military is asked whether or not they are homosexual. But if they reveal that they are homosexual and they engage in homosexual activity, they will be discharged from the military. Do you personally think -- gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military, gays should be allowed to serve under the current policy, or gays should not be allowed to serve in the military under any circumstances?

Do you feel that it's important for the United States to be number one in the world militarily, or that being number one is not that important, as long as the U.S. is among the leading military powers?

	Important	Not that important	No opinion
2007 Feb 1-4	61%	38	1
2000 May 18-21	70%	29	1
1999 May 7-9	59%	39	2
1993 Mar 29-31	61%	37	2

Some people feel that war is an outdated way of settling differences between nations. Others feel that wars are sometimes necessary to settle differences. With which point of view do you agree?

	Outdated	Sometimes necessary	No opinion
	%	%	%
2007 Feb 1-4	37	61	3
2004 Feb 9-12	24	73	3
1999 May 7-9	26	71	3
1995 Apr 21-24 ^	38	56	6
1991 Feb 7-10 ^	17	80	3
1991 Jan 30-Feb 2 ^	21	76	4
1991 Jan 23-26 ^	37	55	8
1990 Mar 15-18 ^	49	48	3
1981 May 8-11 ^	50	43	7
1975 Apr 18-21 ^	45	46	9
1971 Jun 25-28 ^	46	44	10

^ WORDING: Some people feel that war is an outmoded way of settling differences between nations. Others feel that wars are sometimes necessary to settle differences. With which point of view do you agree?

Which comes closer to your own opinion -- [ROTATED: the U.S. should not attack another country unless that country has attacked the U.S. first, (or) the U.S. should be able to attack any country it thinks might attack the U.S.]?

	Should not attack unless attacked first	Should be able to attack	No opinion
	%	%	%
2006 Jul 6-9	57	35	8
2004 Oct 9-10	52	41	7
2004 Sep 24-26	52	41	7
2004 Feb 9-12	53	43	4
2003 Dec 5-7	54	41	5
2002 Oct 3-6	51	40	9

Do you favor or oppose allowing women in the military into combat jobs?

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
2005 Jun 24-26	67%	32	1
1992 Nov 10-11 ^	55%	42	3

^ Asked in a rotation with other items

If you had a son or daughter who was planning to enter the military, would you support that step or would you suggest a different occupation?

	Support that step	Suggest different occupation	No opinion
2005 Jun 16-19	51%	48	1

Would you favor or oppose requiring every able-bodied young man in this country when he reaches the age of 18, to spend one year in military training and then join the reserves?

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
	%	%	%
2005 Jun 16-19	35	62	3
1955 Dec 8-13	69	23	8
1955 May 12-17	76	18	6
1955 Feb 10-15	71	20	9
1955 Jan 20-25	73	22	5
1954 Dec 2-7	75	22	3
1954 Aug 26-31	72	22	6
1952 Feb 28-Mar 5	60	33	7
1951 Dec 9-14	56	28	16

Next, I will read you a list of jobs in the military. Do you favor or oppose having women do each of the following? How about -- [ITEMS A-C READ IN ORDER]?

2005 May 20-22 (sorted by "favor")	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
C. Serving anywhere in Iraq	72%	27	1
B. Serving in combat zones as support for the ground troops	67%	32	1
A. Serving as the ground troops who are doing most of the fighting	44%	54	2

Do you think women in the armed services -- should get combat assignments on the same terms as men, should they be able to get combat assignments only if they want to, or should they never get combat assignments?

	Same terms as men	Only if want to	Never get assignments	No opinion
2003 Dec 5-7	38%	45	16	1
1991 Jul 25-26	26%	53	18	3
1991 Feb 14-15	36%	45	16	3

Do you think people who are openly gay or homosexual should -- or should not -- be allowed to serve in the U.S. military?

	Yes, should	No, should not	No opinion
2003 Dec 5-7	79%	18	3

Next, I will read you a list of jobs in the military that are considered combat jobs. Do you favor or oppose having women do each of the following? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

BASED ON 485 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.

A. Flying combat aircraft

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion

2001 Dec 14-16	77%	21	2

B. Serving on submarines

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion

2001 Dec 14-16	73%	24	3

C. Serving as ground combat troops

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion

2001 Dec 14-16	52%	46	2

D. Serving as special forces that conduct operations behind enemy lines

	Favor	Oppose	No opinion

2001 Dec 14-16	63%	35	2

If a draft were to become necessary, should young women be required to participate as well as young men, or not?

BASED ON 534 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.

	Yes	No	No opinion
	%	%	%
2001 Dec 14-16	46	50	4
1998 Jun 5-7	54	44	2
1991 Jul 25-26	50	47	3
1980 Jul 11-14	49	47	4
1980 Feb 1-4	51	45	4
1980 Jan 31-Feb 1	50	47	3
1979 Mar 2-5	43	50	7

Next, we have a few questions about the armed forces.

Are you personally a veteran of the armed forces?

	Yes	No	No opinion

2001 May 18-20	16%	84	*
* Less than 0.5%

Would you say you have or have not received the respect and thanks you deserve for serving in the Armed Forces?

BASED ON 169 VETERANS OF ARMED FORCES; ±8 PCT. PTS.

	Yes, have received	No, not	No opinion

2001 May 18-20	73%	24	3

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