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Do Veterans Feel Valued in 2025?

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Last Veterans Day, we explored the many ways to be a veteran. Our research found clear differences in how connected young people are to the military. Nearly one in five academy cadets (19%) and ROTC cadets (20%) came from military families—almost double the share of civilian students (11%). Meanwhile, only 4% of civilians were veterans themselves, compared to 9% of academy cadets and 11% of ROTC cadets.

That’s a reminder that the next generation of officers and leaders often has deep family or personal ties to service. But how do those who have already served—the young veterans now in college or training—feel about how society views them? Do they think Americans truly appreciate their service?

Back on Memorial Day, our data showed that 55.8% of young people believed Americans appreciate veterans’ sacrifices. Yet, cadets—especially those at the academies—were less convinced that the public understood their work. Now, with new data from 4,307 respondents, we can take a closer look at veterans’ own perspectives.

Roughly 9% (360) identified as having prior military service—whether active duty, reserves, or National Guard. When asked whether “most members of civilian society have a great deal of respect for the military,” 82% of veterans agreed, along with 80% of civilians (Table 1). But when the question shifted to understanding—“The American people understand the sacrifices made by those who serve in the U.S. military”—agreement dropped: 61% of veterans versus 57% of civilians said yes. Even so, that small gap was statistically meaningful (p<.003).

 VeteransCivilians
Most members of civilian society have a great deal of respect for the military.  82.1%  79.6%
The American people understand the sacrifices made by the people who serve in the U.S. military.  61.4%  57.1%

Table 1. Percent Agreement that Americans Respect and Understand the Sacrifices of Service Members

The data show something subtle but powerful: Young veterans feel respected—but they also sense a gap in understanding. They believe the average American appreciates their service but doesn’t fully grasp what military life demands—the long deployments, transitions home or to another forward deployment, long working at home hours, and physical, emotional, social and psychological tolls associated with military life. That disconnect may not stem from apathy but from distance: only a small share of young Americans today personally know someone who serves (Pew Research Center 2011).

Sociologists and other scholars often call this the civil–military gap—the social distance between those who serve and those who do not (Feaver and Kohn 2001). Our findings suggest that while respect remains high, understanding remains thinner. That’s an important distinction for educators, policymakers, and communities trying to bridge the divide.

So, this Veterans Day, it’s worth asking:
Respect is clear—but are we taking the time to understand?

References

Feaver, Peter and Melvin Kohn. 2001. Soldiers and Civilians.  Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

Pew Research Center. 2011. The Military-Civilian Gap: Fewer Family Connections. Research Report. Accessed from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2011/11/23/the-military-civilian-gap-fewer-family-connections/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.

Drugs, Presidents, and the Military

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On August 8, 2025, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump secretly authorized U.S. military action against Latin American drug cartels. While striking, this is not new—U.S. presidents have repeatedly used the military in the ‘war on drugs.’

President Richard Nixon set the tone in 1969 with Operation Intercept, nearly shutting down border crossings to curb marijuana imports and deploying the Navy in the Gulf of Mexico. Nixon later declared drug traffickers ‘national enemies,’ launched the DEA in 1973, and even floated the bizarre idea of unleashing a screwworm to destroy opium poppies in Southeast Asia.

Ronald Reagan intensified the fight, declaring the drug trade a national security threat. His Florida Task Force used Navy destroyers, and Vice President George H. W. Bush oversaw operations.

As president, George H. W. Bush expanded these efforts—doubling Defense Department anti-drug funding, making the Pentagon lead for intelligence, launching Joint Task Force-6 to support border enforcement, and deploying Special Forces to Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. He also ordered Operation Just Cause (1989), the invasion of Panama to capture dictator Manuel Noriega on drug-trafficking charges.

During the Clinton administration, direct military interdiction waned in favor of training and intelligence support, with military-adjacent leadership—such as General Barry McCaffrey as ‘Drug Czar’—and amendments to Posse Comitatus widening permissible domestic military support.

George W. Bush later launched ‘Plan Colombia,’ funneling roughly $10–12 billion (2000–2021) into military and security aid to Colombia to counter narcotics, yielding mixed results—improved security but persistent coca cultivation.

 Civilian ROTC Military Academy Total 
Very appropriate 39.0% 36.0% 31.2% 32.6% 
Somewhat appropriate 35.8% 41.5% 41.6% 41.2% 
Not very appropriate 18.3% 19.0% 23.4% 22.7% 
No opinion 6.9% 3.6% 3.3% 3.5% 
Total surveyed 218 422 3252 3892 
Total % 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 

Table 1. Respondents Who Believe that it is Appropriate for the Military to “To Combat Drug Trafficking” by Military Affiliation

Since military personnel are expected to enforce these drug-related policies, what do they think of such missions? Our previous post with regard to domestic issues suggests that civilians would be more open to it than their military counterparts. Findings show, here, that support also declines with closer military affiliation. Academy cadets are least supportive—only 31.8% deem it ‘very appropriate.’ Civilian students are more approving at 39%, yet still lower than the 51% who supported using troops for managing domestic disorder in our last post.

This suggests academy cadets prioritize traditional defense roles, while civilians display greater openness to expanded military engagement—including in domestic and transnational arenas. Their lower support for utilizing troops to help with the war on drugs could stem from the fact that our sample is younger than the general population (in their late teens and 20s). They may be less open to fighting a war on drugs because, according to Gallup, young people generally support legalization of drugs more than older Americans, especially among conservatives. 

Taken together, the historical record and public opinion data highlight a tension in American civil-military relations. Presidents across parties have consistently expanded the military’s role in drug enforcement, often framing narcotics as threats to national security. Yet those closest to military service remain cautious about broadening its mission, underscoring an enduring divide between civilian expectations of military power and the professional ethos of the armed forces.

Send in the Marines! Maybe…

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The New York Times reports that President Trump plans to send in the Marines and other troops to Los Angeles in response to protests there. As of today, a battalion of 700 was sent to the city, in addition to 2000 National Guard troops. The Marines are famous for the slogan, “first to fight” as they are expected to be the tip of the arrow for any conflict. But do people agree that the military to should be used to manage domestic issues, especially those that are not about fighting wars?

Our data may surprise some people. Typically, we find that civilian college students are more “doves” while military-affiliated students may be thought of as “hawks”, more supportive of utilizing the military as part of national policy. In this case, we find the reverse: military affiliates, especially academy cadets, are significantly less likely to support the use of the military “To deal with domestic disorder within the U.S.” (Table 1). Only 38 percent of academy cadets believe it is very appropriate for troops to be used for this purpose while over 50 percent of civilian students do. ROTC cadets are closer to their civilian peers than academy cadets (48%) in this case (survey data collected between fall 2017 and spring 2025, N=4090).

 CivilianROTCMilitary AcademyTotal
Very appropriate50.7%47.5%38.3%40.0%
Somewhat appropriate31.3%32.2%33.3%33.1%
Not very appropriate12.4%18.1%25.8%24.3%
No opinion5.5%2.1%2.6%2.7%
Total surveyed21741934034039
Total %100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%

Table 1. Respondents Who Believe that it is Appropriate for the Military to “Deal with Domestic Disorder within the U.S.” by Military Affiliation

While it may seem that these young people are conflicted on the matter, majorities of both civilian students and cadets at least believe that that is “somewhat appropriate” to send troops in to deal with domestic issues. It seems that the word “hesitant” would be the best way to describe their views. There may be very different reasons for this hesitancy; we believe that among cadets this has less to do with political values and beliefs than about professionalism. Cadets typically see their role as fighting wars – let the police handle domestic issues. Still, the military has been used for any number of tasks, notably peacekeeping missions, and have done so successfully. Hence, the Marines sent to manage the problems associated with the protests in California will likely do their jobs well but it will not be done with great enthusiasm.  

The Many Shades of Veteran, Part 1

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Veterans Day is set aside each year to recognize all people who have served honorably in active duty military. While our data focuses on cadets, we have created a unique window to the many ways that people can be a veteran in today’s society. And, it makes a difference. Being a veteran gives you access to any number of services in society. Organizations like USAA provide insurance and other services not only to military personnel but also veterans and their families. USAA commercials with famous football player Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) comically shows him trying to become a member of USAA only to be turned away each time because he has no ties to the military.

Our data show quite a variety of connections to the military. In this post, we focus on the connection between current military status (cadet or not), coming from a family in which at least one parent served (Brat), and previous military status (veteran). Does being a cadet relate to military status in other ways, like being from a military family and previous military experience? Morten Ender’s edited book, Military Brats and Other Global Nomads does a good job demonstrating the ties among military personnel and their families. Veterans produce veterans just like preachers produce preachers, though some rebel against the identity (see Preacher’s Kid (PK) Syndrome). Figure 1 demonstrates the many ways that military ties can occur among people in our samples.

Figure 1. Diagram Outlining the Ways that People can be Connected to the Military

For this post, we utilize some of our data from 2017 to 2024 (N=3540). Here, we see a good percent of our cadets come from military families (Table 1). Nineteen percent of our academy cadets and 20 percent of ROTC cadets come from military families compared to only 11 percent of civilian students. While a much lower percent of our sample actually served in the military, the divide in levels of service among civilians and military cadets is similar: nine and 11 percent of cadets, respectively, had military service prior to becoming a cadet. About four percent of civilian students had prior military service.

Academy CadetROTC CadetCivilian
Military Brat18.7%20.2%11.2%
Veteran (prior service)8.8%11.4%3.6%
Table 1. Distribution of Veteran or Military Family Status by Current Military Status

We will continue this analyses in future posts, to answer the question: does additional military exposure impact attitudes toward military service in a positive or negative way, if at all? Like PK syndrome, additional exposure could create a negative sentiment toward the military and its mission. Alternatively, it could strengthen their attitudes, at least among those who are willing to stay in service.

We wish a happy veterans day to all of those serving in the military now and who have honorably served their country in the past.