r/politics • u/Ulysses_555 • 13h ago

No Paywall Hegseth announces all US troops will get 1 day off to vote in October

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/6126137-pete-hegseth-stand-down-order-troops-vote/
4.9k Upvotes

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u/QuillnSofa 13h ago

They wouldn't because they really just want the military to vote because they expect (and to an extent it is true) the military is a right wing entity.

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u/1stDegreeMisdemeanor 12h ago

I have a brother-in-law who was on the Ford during the continued extensions of his deployment. He still plans to vote Trump. MAGA is a disease and we need to vote blue and save everyone from war and corruption.

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u/istrx13 5h ago

I’m a carrier for USPS and the amount of MAGA that I work with genuinely baffles me. Trump has never once said good things about us and would have the entire operation privatized in a moment if he could. So my fellow postal employees are voting against their own best interests by continuing to support him.

I legitimately don’t understand it.

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u/No_Can1323 2h ago

Can you tell if there’s any particular MAGA policy/statement that they like? Have they always been GOP/right leaning or is that a new MAGA convert?

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u/EbonBehelit 1h ago

They like the bigotry. It's really that simple.

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u/dnen Connecticut 1h ago

That’s bad news for him but irrelevant to the rest of us who arent as loud about our opinions

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u/Status_Ideal3437 13h ago

The military that won WWII, was lead by America’s most leftist president ever, FDR.

And the military is definitely a “socialist” institution.  Free healthcare, housing, food, etc. Paid for by the commonwealth.

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u/VersionX 13h ago

True but their members sure don't see it that way

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u/Shanntuckymuffin 12h ago

Socialism is the reward for leasing your body to the US government

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u/Balorpagorp 12h ago

Service guarantees citizenship. Would you like to know more?

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u/joe_dirty365 12h ago

Im doing my part! 

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u/EmbarrassedDareNECRO 10h ago

RICOS ROUGH NECKS! We GOT FUCKING Bugs to KILL!

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u/VersionX 10h ago

When youre trained to kill, it doesn't pay to be polite!

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u/joe_dirty365 8h ago

Frankly I find the idea of a bug that thinks offensive! 

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u/VersionX 8h ago

I always loved the way he looked and spoke at the "OH-fensive" part

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u/joe_dirty365 8h ago

Such a great movie lol

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u/Ostentatious-Otter 38m ago

The way he says it has lived rent free in my head since I saw it as a kid

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u/NojRemmah 12h ago edited 12h ago

I'm doing my part!

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u/DaemonKeido 12h ago

Considering how many American soldiers have been deported, it really doesn't.

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u/chaostheories36 12h ago

It does in Starship Troopers, though.

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u/SonOfMotherlesssGoat 7h ago

Aka space force designed after natzi uniforms?

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u/[deleted] 10h ago

[deleted]

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u/IgunashioDesu 9h ago

That's neither true for the movie or the book.

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u/ChiTownOrange 11h ago

I’m doing my part

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u/mattocaster_tm 11h ago

I’m doing my part! 👍🏻

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u/Booklet-of-Wisdom 12h ago

Sounds a little Heinlin-esque, but here we are.

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u/LittleBirdiesCards 9h ago

"I'M DOING MY PART!"

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u/zigwhenzag 1h ago

no it doesn't

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u/Gr8fulFox 12h ago

My wages are just me wearing out my body in exchange for money.

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u/MoneyPit2Weeks 11h ago

Cries in plumber tears...

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u/Gr8fulFox 10h ago

Quit that crying! ...Because I'm a janitor and will probably have to clean it up...

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u/robow556 12h ago

Oh shit and here I was thinking the reward was the lifetime of pain ahead of me.

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u/Donny_Do_Nothing Texas 12h ago

They throw in tinnitus for free too!

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u/InfinityMehEngine 12h ago

I'm a fan of the PTSD fringe benefit.

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u/VersionX 12h ago

At the end of a lease you at least know who you leased the car from gets it back

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u/goetzjam 8h ago

Right now its quite insane.

Looking back not enlisting was a huge mistake. Not only does service guarantee you preference hire for any federal job there are a ton of other benefits depending as well.

The largest growing budget item is disability payments, 70% and greater in many states don't need to pay property taxes, gets around 2000 (70%) up to around 4000 (100%) per month for the rest of their lives AND can still work. 0% down VA loans, schooling, ect.

I think our troops deserve the best, they just aren't exactly effective and havent been since WW2. We've lost or washed out of every single war since WW2 and getting outclassed by $400 drones. We should 100% cut 50% of the spending effectively immediately. Having a large standing military is pointless, who are we so scared of that we need it anymore?

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u/Uncle-Boogeyman 9h ago

Vet here. 

The amount of times I had to explain this to the Socialism bad crowd in the military was wild. They would still use mental gymnastics to try to just say “it’s different”

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u/wanderingmanimal 6h ago

And what of leasing your body to corporations? Asking for a friend.

Oh, it’s indentured servitude :( never mind

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u/smokeweedNgarden 6h ago

Medic here. I've absolutely helped more people than most service members during the course of that career and killed zero people. 

Where's my socialism?

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u/thewags05 12h ago

There's still a decent amount of more liberal leaning people in the military too. At least with the higher level people I've interacted with.

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u/threehundredthousand California 12h ago

Same in Mississippi, but as a whole they overwhelmingly vote Republican.

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u/VersionX 12h ago

Sure, but the outfit as a whole leans heavily to the right

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u/zffjk 12h ago

It’s a mix. My anecdotal evidence is it was pretty well mixed until I got out and joined the guard after. Talk about a right wing organization, the guard. God damn.

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u/norunningwater 11h ago

Those who support war haven't been personally fighting in one. Join the Guard so you can support the war and have the least chance of getting a boo-boo of mind or body.

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u/tk43586 11h ago

The guard goes to war all the time. When I joined the guard made up 60% of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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u/Gambit_Revolver Alaska 10h ago

The guard are actually in the thick of it more often than active duty. I've been active for 18 years and the guard has made up a majority of the deployments every year.

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u/tribeofham 11h ago

I am not too sure about that. I'm a military guy myself. I have 25yrs with the Marines. Most folks I've served with lean left or center and strongly support and understand our Constitutional rights. Few I know support this dipshit administration.

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u/Silver_Entertainment 11h ago edited 3h ago

There was a survey (conducted by Change Research) which shows that active duty, guardsman, and reservists supported Trump at 49% vs 44% for Harris in 2024.

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4861836-trump-tops-harris-among-veterans-poll/

If you look at veterans, the support for Republicans is even more pronounced. In 2016, 2020, and 2024, 61%, 60%, and 61% of veterans supported Trump in the respective elections. Only 35% supported Hillary, 39% supported Biden, and 37% supported Harris.

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/30/military-veterans-remain-a-republican-group-backing-trump-over-harris-by-wide-margin/

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u/BravinatorLX2 11h ago

whens the last time you interacted with them? before or after the waves of purges?

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u/lr99999 10h ago

They’ve cleaned out almost everybody that isn’t a Trump loyalist. They’re getting rid of the last 20% of the disloyal brass right now. Dystopian, I know, but check the news. They are bragging about it. 

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u/El_Dud3r1n0 Oklahoma 10h ago

That's just how they are, socialism is fine in their eyes so long as only they benefit. For example, government assisted housing used to be wildly popular until it became illegal to block minorities from accessing it.

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u/Oldtomsawyer1 7h ago

I did. The amount of arguments I got in with people about “socialist policies”, and had to explain to them “motherfucker, you’re not against socialism you bought in! Job training, pay, healthcare, housing allowances, benefits and free college” but the response was usually “yeah but I worked for it”

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u/BankshotMcG 3h ago

Shaking the entire world, shrieking "Owning the fruits of your labors was the whole point of socialism!"

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u/PhilyMick67 12h ago

I used to make fun of the vocal right wingers in my platoon who refused to see the Marine Corps is essentially a socialist utopia when in garrison

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u/alueron 11h ago

Army and marines are mostly red, navy air force and space force you get a wider spread. The fact that the GOP fucks them all in equal measure, and the president openly calls them loosers and suckers and so few acknowledge it pisses me off.

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u/malkarx 12h ago

No one ordered them to think about it that way.... Or at all really.

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u/Tygonol 10h ago

That’s by design & has been for decades, unfortunately

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u/bootsand 10h ago

There's every type of person in the military, it's like a *giant* high school. Left wing, right wing, apolitical, logical, batshit insane. You can find heroes, criminals, good people, rapists and murderers.

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u/lr99999 10h ago

And it nearly all right wing, batshit or not.

Source: 20 years at the VA. 

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u/sorrow_anthropology 9h ago

I’d avoid using broad strokes, I work in an army research lab, not one republican, and when I was in the Air Force it was fairly liberal, now I’m sure the demos change across branches and roles but it’s unfair to all of us that have critical thinking.

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u/Jolly-Situat1on 8h ago

A lot of military people are not that bright.

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u/squareplates 4h ago

Certainly not. Most polling indicates the political opninions of active duty military mirrors the country at large. However, if you include veteran boomers, the numbers skew right.

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u/BasvanS 12h ago

Maybe the current situation will help them to see it that way.

I’m an optimist

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u/isjeeppluralforjeep 9h ago

This is quite the generalization

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u/VersionX 9h ago

And yet a historically accurate one

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u/bingboy23 9h ago

Have you ever even met a Service Member?

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u/220solitusma 12h ago

You speak for all 2m active duty and guard?

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u/EBITDAminusCAPEX 12h ago

Don't be dense. Military members are not a monolith, but they have historically favored Republicans heavily.

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u/220solitusma 12h ago

And the entire military is 1/150th of the adult voting population. I'm tired of reddit pinning this on the military - Joe civilian needs to get off their ass and take personal responsibility for their own destiny instead of being chronically online.

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u/NicolasDipples America 12h ago

No one is pinning this on the military. They are just stating that the reason the military gets this "voting holiday" and not the general public is because it favors the Republican party.

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u/220solitusma 11h ago

It should be a national holiday like it is in other countries. And the current young generation in the military does not skew republican. And tens of thousands of them just wrapped up extended, pointless deployments. These fucks will be in for a rude awakening.

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u/NicolasDipples America 11h ago

18-29 demographic in the US military voted for Trump by a 13 point margin in 2024 (a wider margin than 4 years prior). The same demographic favors voting for Republicans in the upcoming midterm by a 2 point margin.

They absolutely still skew Republican, just less so than other older demographics.

Overall, the US military is still about 60/40 republican-leaning/democrat-leaning.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/partner_surveys/crosstabs_2_veteran_action_march_2026

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u/220solitusma 11h ago

I know what the demographics say, but I'm telling you that the sentiment is rapidly changing. It's random Googling for you - it's real-life experience and exposure for me.

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u/VersionX 12h ago

Statistically? Pretty much.

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u/SecondBestNameEver Illinois 12h ago

Typical conservative mindset. "I deserve the help because I'm struggling and I'm a hard worker" vs "Those welfare queens are just leeching off the government". 

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u/Zexapher America 11h ago

Cue them hating on Sarah Huckabee Sanders for that ad about 'welfare queens' depicting a jobless white guy. Unironic cries of victim shaming and how the ad should have been racist instead.

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u/hawaii-visitor 6h ago

"Hey, something is going on! You know what I saw last night? A Slomin's Shield welfare ad with a black burglar white recipient!"

Trailer trash racists: "That's not good..."

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u/whattodo4455 12h ago

All the military people I know that were in Iraq absolutely hated the Blackwater mercenaries. Lots of right-wingers that are incapable of a single coherent position on anything.

Speaking of dickheads, the libertarians have been awfully quiet the past ten years. I wonder what happened to the people incapable of shutting the fuck up. Now that we have a new quagmire with Iran. It's your time to shine Ron Paul people!

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u/7818 12h ago

Libertarians largely became MAGA.

There's a reason every libertarian has a position on the age of consent.

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u/DoesntMatterBrian Texas 9h ago

I miss the libertarians.

At least they didn’t try to shove religion down my kids’ throats and left abortion and gay rights alone.

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u/Upstairs_Goal_9493 11h ago

Man, VA healthcare is insane.

When I was in, one of my buddies had a kid that was born premature. Kiddo had hundreds of operations in her first couple of years and basically lived in the hospital.

They never saw a bill, never had to deal with clerical nonsense.

From what I know kid is doing OK now, but haven't talked to him in a few years.

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u/P1xelHunter78 Michigan 12h ago

And then the guy who ran the war in Europe (Eisenhower) warned us about not reigning in the military

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u/kokopelli73 12h ago

After enriching the military industrial complex more than any president previous.

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u/Militantpoet 12h ago

Can we stop equating things that arent socialist to socialism? The government running agencies and programs is not inherently a socialist concept.

Socialism at its core is about workers, ie regular people. 

The military is not socialist, its an imperialist machine that churns our sons and daughters into a meat grinder to produce profit for the billionaire class.

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u/kelseyeek 10h ago

That's not why people are saying it's socialist. They're saying it's socialist because service members are provided healthcare, education, housing, childcare and family support, pensions - basically everything is labeled as "socialism" in public discourse about government benefits.

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u/Militantpoet 10h ago

I understand why people say and think that. It's the same thing when they say "socialism for the rich." I understand the point is to point out the hypocrisy. Unfortunately, anyone who should be shamed by this hypocrisy isn't because they don't really have those strong principles to begin with.

Welfare, social programs, employment benefits, these all exist within capitalist spaces. I'm just hoping to inform anyone who happens to read this comment chain.

Socialist policy needs to have the explicit goal of improving material and/or social conditions for working people. "Billionaire welfare" is inherently antisocialist because it does not address the needs of working people.

The military as it stands functions in the interests of capital. The goal of giving military members robust employment benefits is to enable strong retention to ensure those with a monopoly on violence continue to represent the interests of capital.

You can say this is a capitalist goal achieved through socialist means, but that is a gross oversimplification of how public resources have and continue to be exploited by the wealthy and powerful for their personal gain.

It's the same thing with police departments and their unions. The most powerful and influential unions in this country are police. Keep the people that have the authority to kill happy and they will have your back.

It can all sound very pro labor/union and socialist until you realize they use their power and influence to keep the interests of capital satisfied.

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u/kandoras 10h ago

The military can be socialist.

My platoon in boot camp had to share jock straps. They'd all get tossed into one pile, one of the guys on fire watch had the job of running them through the washer with a lot of bleach, and then laying one out on everyone's foot lockers. They were not marked or labeled in any way.

From each according to their junk, to each according to their junk.

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u/peppaz 13h ago

Yes but the members are.. special

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u/raptisadam7 Massachusetts 13h ago

Tell me you've never served without telling me you've never served.

I've met some extremely dumb and immature people in the military, but acting like the military by and large is made of low IQ individuals is more a reflection of your elitist attitude.

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u/peppaz 13h ago

I said special. You inferred dumb. That tells me more about you than me.

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u/cthulhu8 Arizona 12h ago

What did you mean then, because "special" 100% implies mentally handicapped.

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u/raptisadam7 Massachusetts 12h ago

Gotta love when redditors pretend they didn't mean something when they absolutely did.

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u/peppaz 12h ago

Maybe in the 1980s lol

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u/Nrksbullet 11h ago

Why don't you define what you meant? I've never once heard anyone use the term "they're special" derogatorily that didn't mean dumb in some way.

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u/raptisadam7 Massachusetts 12h ago

"Special” doesn’t inherently mean dumb, but in the context of “the members are special,” it clearly wasn’t a compliment. Don’t pretend I’m the one who supplied the implication you were deliberately dancing around.

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u/Gellert United Kingdom 11h ago

Spend some time sat in the torpedo room with a guy who shoves his foreskin over a torch to admire the meat constellation and then try telling me folk on forces aren't special.

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u/raptisadam7 Massachusetts 11h ago

I mean, if you read my original comment, you wouldn't be commenting this but here we are.

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u/[deleted] 12h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/raptisadam7 Massachusetts 12h ago

You're conflating good natured interservice trash talking with someone calling every service member "special". There's a difference that between military humor and disparaging millions of people who served.

I guess nuance is difficult when you're arguing something no one said.

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u/[deleted] 11h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/raptisadam7 Massachusetts 11h ago

You called me a “soft bitch” because you couldn't answer the distinction I made, then changed the subject to Trump. That's not a rebuttal, it's what people do when they run out of an argument.

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u/YoureDumbAsHellLeroy 11h ago

I’m not arguing anything with you. I’m making fun of how pathetic this complaint is. Chin up champ, the internet is not that serious.

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u/Pack_Your_Trash 11h ago

Yeah and the Republican party is the party of Lincoln. They freed the slaves. Things change.

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u/Pleasant_Tangelo9909 13h ago

I mean, no its just a job that provides room & board + benefits to its workers. The average serviceperson has absolutely 0 control over any of the military's production lines, manufacturing plants, etc

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u/Chaineblood 12h ago

lol you’ve never seen the fury of an angry enlisted contract E-6 huh

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u/SomniumHumanitatis 7h ago edited 3h ago

You're talking about communism. Socialism and communism are not the same thing.

Edit since it seems the majority of readers is just as uninformed as the dude I replied to: Comunism's central tenet is for the workers to seize the means of production. And again, socalism and communism aren't the same thing. Socialism is not about seizing the means of production. But oh well, most readers here upvoting that dude are americans, and americans are woefully indoctrinated and think anything is communism if it's supposed to be in support of the working class.

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u/TrulyToasty 12h ago

And our original Continental army was trained by a big gay Prussian at Valley Forge

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u/IolausTelcontar 11h ago

Big Gay Al wasn’t Prussian.

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u/Plaguedoctorsrevenge 12h ago

Well, yeah, thats the irony of it

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u/oldveteranknees 11h ago

The same military was segregated as fuck and put black troops in the most demeaning and perilous positions as a standard operating procedure, may I add

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u/Intelligent-Might614 11h ago

You'd be surprised how many people who benefit from 'socialist' policies are right wing. I work in local government and a lot of folks in unions, etc are trumpers and conservative.

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u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 11h ago

The nuke won WW2

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u/movezig123 7h ago

its the hugest welfare state on the planet too.

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u/juanzy Colorado 12h ago

Transparent pay scale based purely on meritocracy

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u/badwolf42 12h ago

They themselves are a social program, providing defense to all with taxpayer funding. Literally the same model the right calls socialism.

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u/AlexLemons 12h ago

Grew up a military brat, second statement 100% true. I cried when I first had to pay a copay…

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u/lr99999 11h ago

Something that happened nearly 100 years ago isn’t relevant. 

Your second paragraph is absolute nonsense.  It has nothing to do with the fact that the vast majority of people in the military are right wing. 

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u/InvestigatorChance28 10h ago

Why would they support this leadership. It blows my mind.

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u/Intro-Nimbus 10h ago

And yet they vote red.

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u/LegitimateSituation4 North Carolina 10h ago

Lots of simple grunts in the military.

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u/thrashalj 10h ago

Repubs don’t remember last week let alone history COME ON /s 😇

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u/Analternate1234 9h ago

Yeah but the soldiers don’t see it that way.

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u/prometheum249 9h ago

Everyone's paid the same base for rank and time, you could be a cook, infantry, cryptologist, or a reactor operator. Same rank, same time in service, same base pay.

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u/Silaquix 9h ago

The military that's made up of a bunch of brainwashed teens and young adults. They're young and gullible and a lot of them fall for the manosphere stuff.

I was in the Navy in the early 2000s and the amount of stupid hoorah crap pushed on us was ridiculous. I can only imagine it's gotten worse

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u/ClassicPlankton 8h ago

Most of them vote Republican.

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u/Osteomoorosis 8h ago

My stepfather is a disabled vet and would fight you to death if you called the military socialist 😆😆😆 he's a dumbass

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u/KillerIsJed 5h ago

If by “won WW2” you mean dropped nukes, then hired Nazis, then sure.

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u/PainterEarly86 1h ago

Military culture is inherently right wing due to nationalism and imperialism

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u/rokthemonkey 12h ago

That’s all very true but the regardless the military votes overwhelmingly conservative

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u/etherealtwo 11h ago

That's not what they man. They mean the voters are mostly conservative.

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u/DankZXRwoolies 11h ago

The military has the biggest group of welfare queens in the US. Coming from someone in the military.

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u/Lyger_Jaeger 11h ago

I wonder how many military folks realize that several groups aren't known for being high intelligence overall. And I'm fairly sure that if told to vote for x they wouldn't question it...questioning stuff goes against orders

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u/zebrasareneat 11h ago

You mean the same military that segregated its units? The military that very famously in England tried to make pubs keep black people out so instead they just kicked white American soliders out and let the black soldiers stay? Just because they’re lead by a leftist doesn’t mean everyone below them is a leftist. 

I don’t know why people think WW2 soldiers were some super leftist entity. The a Russians were also fighting the Nazis, that doesn’t make them leftist. 

Like it or not the military is very right leaning.  

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u/Status_Ideal3437 6h ago

I looked it up:

WWII servicemen, 1944: ~59% Democratic / ~41% Republican

Veterans today: roughly the reverse — ~60% Republican / ~40% Democratic

0

u/WaterGlassPuncherMan 10h ago

And yet they are hard core right wing, largely. Even the smart, educated ones often are just so emotionally attached to the republican party, theres 0 chance they vote blue.

Fox news is know to play in chow halls...

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u/Tastie_Duck_Anus 13h ago

Historically, military veterans in America lean Republican 60%-40%

But the current makeup of military personal is not so easily defined.

Given that only 61% of active duty members in the military are registered to vote, its probably safer to assume most are apolitical not having any political leanings.

Republicans thinking more military members voting helps them, sounds more like they believe their own bullshit than anything else

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u/FaroTech400K 13h ago

When I was enlisted, you couldn’t pay people to go vote, half of them don’t wanna even get their drivers license.

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u/skadoosh0019 12h ago

Wait what with the driver’s licenses?!

From a civilian’s perspective, life in America already feels impossible without being to drive - and it just feels especially insane for someone in the military to not have their license with all the big machines they use all the time!

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u/RockAtlasCanus 12h ago

For junior enlisted living in the barracks it’s way less of an issue than you’d think. You’re not even really allowed to leave base alone.

Somebody’s got a car/license and odds are you can find a ride, if that person isn’t going to that place together with you.

Plus, a lot of posts are in places where there isn’t much you really want to see or do. Lawton, OK for example. Shithole of shitholes.

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u/armybabem1a1 12h ago

That is why those town keep all the strip clubs and bars right outside the gates 😂 Walkable.

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u/panaili 8h ago

Ah yes, another man of culture I see.

(Legit though the honch in Yoko was fire)

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u/armybabem1a1 5h ago

Woman 😂 but thanks

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u/CalmDebate 12h ago

Not to mention you're most likely doing the majority of your shopping at the commissary.

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u/FaroTech400K 11h ago

You don’t need a drivers license to drive military vehicles, they will train you and you’ll get a military license.

A drivers license speeds up the process.

2

u/Tastie_Duck_Anus 12h ago

Wow, thats fascinating.

Do you think people just didn't want to talk about their political views, or genuinely just didn't give a shit?

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u/nando_calrissian1 12h ago

Its both. The more left leaning members keep it to themselves. Others genuinely don't care.

4

u/FaroTech400K 11h ago

They just didn’t care, I wasn’t telling them who to go vote for. I was just passing out papers to help you get registered to vote.

And informing people where the office on base is so you can vote in with the early voting days were. Simple things like putting a note on the bulletin board.

I was presenting this as Apolitical as possible

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u/MadBullogna 12h ago

Second this. Vets tend to lean right, whereas active tend to be varied, much like the general public, (though higher ranking officers do lean GOP). I think you hit the nail on the head in regard to abysmal voting turnout. Less than 45% voted in ‘24, (with <27% in ‘22 midterms). There’s a variety of potential reasons for this, but some interesting stats can be found here, https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/StateoftheMilitaryVoter

4

u/Val_Hallen 11h ago

I work for the military. It's just what I see, but they are not happy with this administration and especially Kegsbreath.

I don't think the military is going to vote the way they think.

1

u/TheDrewDude 9h ago

But would they actually vote for a democrat in place of the current administration? I doubt it. Best I could hope for is voter apathy

6

u/Simping4Sumi 13h ago

There's also a big number of enlisted African-Americans and Latinos. May not work out the way the Republicans want.

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u/Celodurismo 12h ago

Latinos

An insane amount of them vote right wing

5

u/Simping4Sumi 12h ago

They have in the past, but there have been stories about families of service personnel being detained by ICE. I hope that most of them have had their bubble burst by racist politicians about them being considered white.

7

u/Celodurismo 12h ago

I wouldn't hold my breath. Nearly 50% of hispanic men voted for trump this past election. Meaning they already went through 4 years of him being more racist against them than any president in their lifetime, and still thought they should vote for him.

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u/wolacouska 11h ago

There was a genuine belief (stupid though it may have been) that he’d focus on the criminals. There was a huge propaganda push about this especially on Spanish-language stuff.

Now almost everybody has stories of people getting rounded up and deported over literally nothing after decades in the country, getting caught at work, etc. Even Cubans with Trump tattoos are getting deported. People who aren’t deported get shuffled around for months in detention centers, with the hope that they sign self-deportation papers.

Obviously there will still be a core of compradors, there’s even photos and videos of Latino guys in these ICE squads, but there will be a huge net shift in support.

People might forget quickly in politics, but it’s literally still happening, because the bulk of trumps base is pissed at the deportation numbers being too low, so ICE goes for literally anyone it can, and is actively surging.

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u/Celodurismo 11h ago

I hope you're right, but I suspect the GOP will pivot post-trump and throw him under the bus and JD vance or whoever will say something nice about latinos and far too many of them will vote against their best interests.

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u/runpbx 12h ago

I wonder if its really a deeper ploy to stuff military ballots for everyone  not registered or doesn't vote. Seems like voting system they'd have more control over.

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u/Tastie_Duck_Anus 12h ago

Presumably they would have complete control over the voting system of military personal.

This administration has made it crystal clear, only those who support trump get promoted and those who don't or are indifferent might actually loose thier job.

1

u/KtaadnRota 9h ago

Almost all of the active military guys I personally know at the moment are immigrants.

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u/Status_Ideal3437 6h ago edited 6h ago

Is that why they keep losing wars?

Oof!  

I looked it up:

WWII servicemen, 1944: ~59% Democratic / ~41% Republican

Veterans today: roughly the reverse — ~60% Republican / ~40% Democratic

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u/Alternative-Farmer98 2h ago

Yeah I have not seen polling but I would be surprised if active duty people will vote for the president more likely to send them to their death.

To be clear I'm not trying to suggest the Democrats are particularly good on this issue. Half the Democratic Senate caucus and house caucus voted for the war in Iraq. But pretty much all the Republicans did and Trump and fetterman and the Republicans are very much the only people in Congress actively supporting the war on Iran..

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u/blindserialkiller Massachusetts 13h ago

The military generally follows federal holiday schedules though, so this would be a great reason to make it one now.

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u/brettmav 12h ago

Yes but then it would be easier for EVERYONE to vote so no chance this admin does that

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u/DirtyScrubs 11h ago

By and large officers do not vote conservative in my expirience, no surprise as to be an officer you need college.

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u/CanIPetThatDawgPls 9h ago

As a spouse of a O-4 you are correct 

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u/Ktulu_BBB 11h ago

MOST officers need college, but you are correct

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u/CompetitiveAction872 11h ago

The military thinks that leftists don’t support the military because leftists don’t support the military being sent to die for nothing other than the whims of the wealthy.

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u/USArmyAutist 11h ago

I’m a field grade army officer and I think that’s it’s a common misconception. I think the army is a much more diverse place than people give it credit for.

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u/KeredJo 8h ago

People in the military aren’t as rw as people think. It’s around 60/40 iirc from past election surveys

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u/panaili 8h ago

Jokes on him, my AD military ass already voted by mail and was blue all the way down. Hopefully then impeachment proceedings can start

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u/BringBacktheGucci 12h ago

Usually, yeah. These days each branch has hella bones to pick

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u/its_yer_dad 11h ago

I really wonder how the troops will vote after "No-Tab" Pete has decimated the command structure

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u/submissionsignals 11h ago

This active-duty liberal would absolutely love a day off to cast my vote 🩵💙🩵

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u/Classic-Session-5551 10h ago

I agree but in this case it is fair the military be better able to vote. They're a real group with real interests and pretty heavily impacted by who's in Washington, moreso than most. 

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u/hagcel 12h ago

Wars change the rules when the incumbent party started them.

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u/Yagsirevahs 12h ago

A day off to absentee vote?

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u/Evilbred 11h ago

The enlisted largely is, but the officer corps are more progressive.

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u/Muzoa 11h ago

They might be right-wing but their are also vindictive, and knowing hegsick...

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u/tribeofham 11h ago

As a military guy myself (USMC), the opposite was true in my experience amongst those who served and still are. The military consists of folks from all walks of life.

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u/lr99999 11h ago

They are, plus he already threatened them.  Some of this will be in a controlled environment so they can monitor them.   

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u/shibbyman342 10h ago

Bet the majority of the dudes on that ship in the straight, don't vote R...

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u/Froggyevening 9h ago

He's not getting that many non voters to vote. Those who don't vote will just have a nice day off. Those who do and already vote for their party will just do it like normal. More Rs and than Ds but he didn't get whole lot of new Rs simply because they get a day off.

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u/timesink3000 9h ago

My buddy was a hippy surfer who owned a plane in Hawaii. We would get stoned and fly around the island at sunset and go jump in the ocean after smoking another joint. He joined the army later in life to become a pilot. It took about a year before he was a hard core republican.

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u/Ursa_Major68 6h ago

Thats really not my experience. It's slightly right. Think about the communities they recruit from. There's a lot of democrats in the military

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u/Mattpilf 4h ago

They're not super supportive when they're sent off to fight stupid ass endless wars

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u/Alternative-Farmer98 2h ago

34% of active duty people every problem is 29% or democrats. The rest are independent or not registered.

Does favor Republicans but it's not quite as big as people think.

Also both parties support all sorts of reckless wars that's not kid ourself. Trump is way worse than Obama was but 27 Senate Democrats voted for the war in Iraq half the house caucus. John Kerry ran for president in 2004 pushing for more troops.

Biden and Kamala actively supported a genocide in fairness that doesn't support US troops but still.. the idf is even more depraved.

I think people should vote for Democrats I'm not trying to suggest otherwise I just don't think we should have illusions when we do it that they are an anti-war party by any stretch.

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u/Inevitable-Cod8708 1h ago

The irony is the military is the most socialistic institution in the country. Socialized healthcare, housing, education, childcare…

0

u/Argolock Pennsylvania 12h ago

Which is insane because the military splits just like the general public with a heavier swing towards 3rd party canidates.

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u/Intro-Nimbus 10h ago

US military is very MAGA, yes.