60% of Servicemen Wary of Obama as Commander-in-Chief

WorldNetDaily: A recent Military Times survey of active-duty service members found 6 of 10 U.S. soldiers polled said they were "pessimistic" or "uncertain" about Barack Obama serving as commander in chief of America's armed forces. In follow-up interviews reported by the Army Times newspaper, respondents cited Obama's inexperience in leading soldiers, his plans for accelerated removal of troops from Iraq and his pledge to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding homosexual service members as reasons for their cautious outlook. . . .

The sixth annual Military Times survey asked over 30,000 subscribers to Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times newspapers, "How do you feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief?" A total of 5,181 active-duty, National Guard and reserve and retired military subscribers responded to the email invitation issued from Dec. 1 to Dec. 8.

Of the 1,947 active-duty soldiers that responded, a third answered that they are "optimistic," while 25% answered "pessimistic" and 35% admitted to being "uncertain." The "uncertain" response differs from "no opinion," which garnered 8% of the vote. Other survey results found that nearly 80% of the respondents support the war in Afghanistan and nearly the same amount favor increasing troop strength there, though 30% believe it may take more than 10 years of military presence in Afghanistan to achieve American goals.

The majority of active-duty service members also oppose Obama's campaign pledge to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow homosexual soldiers to serve openly in the armed forces. 14% said they would consider ending their military career after serving their obligated tours of duty if the policy was repealed. . . . 71% of respondents in the survey, however, said they would continue to serve even if the policy was overturned. . . .

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