Coming up on waington journal, we talked about camping 2024n the future of the Republican Party. Jesse burns, Senior Editor of th hill, previews the week ahead on the campaign trail. Also, we discuss veterans and military issues. Washington journal starts now. Host it is washington journal for august 7, a poll asked respondents about overall confidence in the u. S. Military. There were fluctuations over several decades, current results show that americans are less likely to express a great deal or a lot of confidence in the military. We will show you those results. To start the program, we want your thoughts on your current level of confidence in the American Military and tell us why you have confidence or do not have confidence. Republicans 202 7488001, democrats 202 7488000 and independents 202 7488002. For active and former military members, 202 7488003. You can use the same number to text us this morning. You can post on social media at facebook. Com cspan or cspanwj on twitter and you can follow the show on instagram. The poll shows the level of confidence that americans expressed over several decades. They asked if they had a great deal of faith, quite a lot, or very little. For those saying a great deal and quite a lot, it started at 60 of those expressing that sentiment. That was back in 1975, following an increase in the 80s, a peak in the 90s over 80 , close to 90 , then dropping with peaks again in the to thousands, 2004, 2009. Then a steady decrease of that level of confidence, saying they had a great deal or quite a lot down to 60 . That is from gallup. They provided a context of why the valleys happened, publi perception of the u. S. Military fluctuated dcally in those the aftermath of the cool for and 9 11 were followed by mitary. In confidence in the the latter of the surges ushered inn era of elevated confidence lasting nearly two decades. Another the u. S. Is withdrawn from iraq and afghanistan, confidence in the military has blic. Nued to decline among the clin across all Party Identification groups with republicans the most likely to express the confidence and independence independents becoming the least likely. The poll tracks about the great deal or quite a lot of confidence level in the military amongst political party. As it currently stands, 68 of republicans expressing that sentiment, 62 of democrats and 55 of independents. When it comes to the confidence level in the military, give us your thoughts as we start this morning. Call the lines, 202 7488001 republicans, 202 7488000 democrats in independents 202 7488002. For active or former members of the military, especially if you want to offer your perspective, 202 7488003 is the number to call and you can use that same number to text us this morning if you wish. Starting off in mississippi, independent line on this level of confidence in the military. Go ahead. Caller good morning. I wanted to make two points. First is that in previous generations, especially going back to world war ii, the number of people who served was large. It was a considerable part of the population who served in the military and was a veteran. I am a millennial, my generations and generations beneath me, it is small, tiny percentage of the population who serve in the military. The other thing i wanted to say is i think wars, winning and losing them, may have some effect. But mostly, it has to do with the fact that spending is getting out of control and has been for a while. We are gearing up for a cold war with china and it is getting very expensive and i think people are worried about the deficit and budget and i think where as in previous times we did not concern ourselves with the military when talking about the budget, people are asking if we are spending too much. Host we continue on, in michigan, independent line. The confidence you have in the military, go ahead. Caller good morning. I do not have that much confidence in the military being used as it was like world war ii and previous. We seem to be sending the military to do chores. We look for places to go to send people as if we were expendable and i do not appreciate it because they hold a life so cheap. Host do you think in that context the military should be decreased in size or changed in effort or what they are used for . What changes would you like to see . Caller i think most people in the world would like to live in a peaceful environment and i think america looks for wars because for some reason, the government seems to want to control the population. We are being used for tools. We keep people out of the battle, introduce our own. They are like rented cops. We do not seem to be held in much esteem by the government as far as promoting long life and happiness. Host the hill had a recent story taking a look at the pentagon reacting to this poll, writing that the press secretary when it was published said he was not in a position to address the why behind the decrease in confidence and maintained the Defense Department will try to earn the confidence. Popularity ebbs and flows over time, we do not take public trust and confidence for granted. As an all volunteer force, we know we have a responsibility to congress and the public to ensure they have an understanding of what we are doing to defend the country, how we spend taxpayer dollars and how we deploy the resources we have been entrusted with. That is part of the statement from the hill, you can add that to the mix as well as your own thoughts on the current level of confidence in the military. North carolina, fayetteville. Joseph, you are next up. Caller the way this country is set up, the way the government is set up, we were never meant to have a standing military. We were meant to have militias, that is what fought all the way through the revolution. This whole thing with the split government now, it seems like theres a lot of people, independents, republicans and some democrats who would not spend a bunch of money on the military. I joined in 1983 and at the age of 49, i got sent to iraq during the obama administration. Most of the people that join the military are doing it because they want to, not because the School System or their parents want them to do it. It is not because they got trapped or anything. For people to say they dont like the military, dont trust them when they are not doing it themselves. You have got civilian control of the military and most of the people in government have not served. It is disingenuous when people say they do not trust the military. They want a militia to defend the country, it will be hard on our allies. Host you said you served in the military, do you encourage others to serve, whether it be your children or others . Caller my brotherinlaw and a in the marine corps when i was active duty. You are hearing people talk about how they dont trust the military. Host joseph in North Carolina giving his military background to give his thoughts this morning. If you are a current or former member of the military and want to share your perspective, you can call the line 202 7488003. The wall street journal took a look at shortfalls when it comes to recruitment for 2023, when it comes to the army it is 15,000 short of 65,000 member goal. When it comes to the navy, 10,000 short of 38,000. Air force, 3000 short of 27,000 goal. Marines, 33 thousand target has been met. That is the breakdown of recruitment. If you want to take a look, there is a story at the wall street journal. From colorado, independent line. Caller good morning, how are you . Host fine, thank you. Caller thanks for taking my call. I am a libertarian. As far as the military goes, at the root of it all is the way the military has so many bases established throughout the entire world. What we really need to do is shut down every military installation outside the u. S. And bring everyone of them home. What good is it for them to defend a country if they are not actually in this country . Host in montana, independent line. Caller good morning. My confidence in the military is very, very low. We use it to make america be number one, that is what we do. There is a reason we have bases all across the world, but other countries do not have bases, why is that . We use war in the military to boost our economy, you look at every recession around that time , we have a board to boost the economy and the military praise on the poor folks and people who need to go to college because we will get you to college, go to the military. Turn your life around, go to the military. These people need help like poverty relief or Mental Health instead of having to go to the military to get these things. I do not have confidence in the military because i think war is bad. Look what happened with 9 11, we used in a way of patriotism. We got hit, it was bad, it was sad. People were getting smart, too smart. They were thinking about more equality, we wanted things. The government and military new that, so we went to war to keep people dos ill and focused on capitalism. That is the way it is. Host the Reagan Foundation did its own survey, taking a look at military issues released back in december. Amongst those questions for this poll, they showed a 48 percent overall confidence, a great deal of overall confidence in the military and 33 as well have some confidence. When it comes to the great deal of confidence, 50 said they had a great deal of confidence to keep the country safe, 44 had confidence the u. S. Military could win a war overseas, 42 percent said it would deter foreign aggression, 35 said they had a great deal of confidence the military would act in a professional and nonpolitical matter. That was done december last year. In florida, good morning. Caller good morning. I am glad you guys have me on. Theres a lot of ground to cover when it comes to the military, but there are ties involved with the military as well as the United States. I hear a lot of people talking about Different Things which i cannot cover on, but what i can say about the military is just like the u. S. Dollar, there is a term called in god we trust. Those terms should be taken to heart and a lot of people have different mindsets on that. There is a part that is spiritual that is connected to that term. Beckoned the old testament, joshua and his men who were militant were servants of god, so they had ties to god and even being 300, they were able to destroy time and time again different militaries that were antichrist or antibiblical. Host how does that relate to the current use of the military leader confidence in it . Caller those terms, once again, when you are separating people who are natural human beings, fleshly figures, and you separate their contributions, if i may say, or attributes to the spiritual realm which has to do with gods influence, you separate the protection of god in the military as well as in the United States. It has a domino effect and a lot of people have free will. Repercussion and consequence. Everybody was always emphasizing everything carnal instead of connecting to spiritual. Host john in louisiana, republican. Caller i called on the wrong line, i am retired military. I spent 28 years in the air force and of been retired just about that amount. The way i see things, back when i was in the air force, we had the cold war and i was in the Strategic Air command. We had a mission day in and day out. It gives you purpose. I toured vietnam and was in desert storm, so ive seen the combat side of the operation. Now it seems like the Senior Leadership of the military is not as good as it was when i was there. They do not have a daytoday mission. It is hard to maintain readiness when there is not a threat. They still are needed because you do not know when the threat is. The threat right now is china and russia trying to get back together as a soviet union. But that is not something the military can wrap their arms around because the job was to break things and kill people. The mission of the military is fuzzy now, i would say. They do not have one we could say like in the cold war, the soviet union, the nuclear thing. But i tell you what i live at the air force base where there is a huge retiree population. A look at the young people as i go in and out of the base a lot and it is good to see them stepping up to the plate and joining the military. I always ask where they are from and if they will make a career out of it and the vast majority, yes, they are. So that does make me feel good. But the leadership has to be in a place where they actually lead and inspire as opposed to being a bureaucrat. I think the Senior Leadership is just a bunch of bureaucrats. Host what role did you serve in the military . You may have said this, but what did you do . Caller i was an air force pilot for 28 years. I was a pilot, then at the end of my career as a pilot, i flew for Delta Airlines for 20 years. Host former military talking about his experiences, relating them to the current confidence level. If you have military background, current or former, give us a call. Text us if you want, anybody can text us on the line. You can call the other lines. It was the House Freedom caucus recently holding a forum on the topic of the military, a member talking about the idea of playing politics with the military, particularly with democrats. Here is a portion. [video clip] the challenge we face as a Republican House as we are dealing with an executive branch and administration that truly does not understand or does not agree with what should be the ultimate purpose of the military. I would say the sole purpose of the military. It is to be the most is effective, lethal, fighting and killing machine so no one wants to challenge us. That was the case before this administration, but this administration told her military the purpose of the military was to fight climate, the climate was the greatest threat to the country. Behind that, the greatest threat was racism in the military, white nationalism, whatever that is. Trump supporters in the military. They perpetrated this Relentless Assault on the very fabric of our military, the very purpose. That was reflected with the ndaa s we had to vote against four times last year. It was a bill that was weakening the military and taking our focus on what the purpose of the military is. I want to congratulate my colleagues for helping us put back focus of what the military is about. We attacked the social experiment, attack diversity, equity and inclusion, attacked climate extremism, attacked funding for abortion, which never happened until the Biden Administration and attacked funding for transgender surgery for military members, members put by colleagues. This is a great step for the country and the military. Host that was from mid july, if you want to go to our website and check at those comments when it comes to military and political matters, you can do that. Robert in florida, republican line. You are on. Caller unfortunately, we are only as strong as our leader and i have no confidence in our leader at this time. Host how does that relate . When you say you have no confidence in the military because of President Biden, what do you mean by that . Caller he is weak. On the stage of the whole world, he looks weak. He makes us look weak. Host how does that impact the military specifically . Caller because he is the commanderinchief. If you are commanderinchief if your commanderinchief is weak, our military cannot stand up to the commanderinchief like they want to. We have good people in the military but they cannot stand up to the commanderinchief. Host ted from oregon, good morning. Caller good morning. I just want to say the only thing i have heard this morning that has got any kind of iron to it is my fellow air force veteran down in louisiana. I was in the civil engineers, i was active duty for six years, two months, 12 days and a wake up. I went into the air force reserve after that, i absolutely think to myself there is only one point in a mans life when you are either going to man up and do it or not. I used the u. S. Air force for a reason, i was a plumbing specialist. If theres one thing i know about a pilot, they do not want to be outside in an outhouse. To let everybody know, ive heard all kinds of things this morning. There is only one man i can really side with and that would be my friend down in louisiana, the pilot. I think to myself, i have heard all kinds of things this morning , from young and old and there comes a point in a young mans life you are either going to do it or not. I think everybody that i know that did not join the military at my age said i was going to do that, and i say you are one of the could have, should have, would have. People have falsified their military record to try to get the benefits i have received is a veteran. If there is anybody that is 18, 19, 20, 21, do not waste your time. Join the military, see the world. Have a great day. Host democrats line from hawaii, hello. Caller how are you doing . I served 21 years active duty in the navy, i am a retired navy chief. Our military has always been strong and remains strong because of the men and women and leaders they serve under. That is it. I agree with both of the air force personnel. Our military is strong and will always be strong. Take care. Host former military, you can add years to the mix if you are active or former. Call the line that best represents you. The Reagan Foundation survey talked about confidence in the military. When it was taken november 2022, 50 of those that said they had a great deal of confidence was down from 57 november 2021. 44 said confidence rose to win a war overseas compared to 2021. It was the same both years for 2021 and 22 when it comes to the idea of a confidence level in deterring aggression, then acting in a professional and nonpolitical manner. 35 said they had a great deal to not do that, 40 saying that november 2021. That is from the Reagan Foundation taking a look at matters of the military. Jeffrey in North Carolina, republican line. Caller good morning. There are a couple of things i want to reiterate, i think the gentleman said he was from florida, about the confidence in the military because joe biden is president. That is very untrue. We are grateful to have a leader such as himself to stay positive and get his whole administration involved with a very highrisk type of position. You are talking peoples lives and deescalate wars. We do not need a war. We have so many tr