CIVIL-MILITARY GAP

November 1999
		Is there a widening "thought gap" between civilians and the military? Colonel Charles Dunlap, Colonel Mackubin Owens and professor Richard Kohn respond to your questions.

Forum introduction Who gives the military its "reality check?" Does the gap go deeper than just between civilians and top military leaders? Do civilians understand the military's mission? Is the civil-military gap a function of natural selection? Should the military change to emulate society? Could a military coup occur in the U.S.?   Online Special: Background on the civil-military gap by forum participants. Nov. 10, 1999: A discussion on the civil-military gap. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the military.

A new study by the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS) has pointed out a growing disparity in political and social views between civilians and members of the military. According to the study, headed by Peter Feaver of Duke University and Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while the public "professes great confidence" in the military, military leaders are pessimistic about civilian society's moral health. A survey of civilians and members of the military conducted by TISS researchers found the military elite are also critical of the country's political leaders, with 66 percent rating the political leadership "somewhat ignorant" or "very ignorant" of military affairs. The military and civilians differ on several social issues, the study says. Seventy-six percent of elite military officers oppose homosexuals openly serving in the military, but over 50 percent of civilians say gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly. Similarly, over 50 percent of civilians surveyed say women should be allowed to participate in all combat jobs, while 65 percent of military officers disagree. While the study reports the civilian-military disparity is growing, it concludes the gap has not become overwhelming and its effects should not be exaggerated. "Our research identified numberous schisms and trends that have undermined civil-military cooperation and, in certain circumstances, could degrade military effectiveness, but these problems cannot be called a crisis," the study says. How is the civil-military gap affecting military policy? How quickly is it growing? How can civilians and the military act to close the gap? Colonel Charles Dunlap, Colonel Mackubin Owens and professor Richard Kohn respond to your questions.