Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military

by Peter D. Feaver

A definitive study on the decades-long run of high public confidence in the military and why it may rest on some shaky foundations.

What explains the high levels of public confidence in the US military and does high confidence matter? In Thanks for Your Service, the eminent civil-military relations scholar Peter D. Feaver addresses this question and focuses on what it means for the military. Proprietary survey data show that confidence is partly based on public beliefs about the military's high competence, adherence to high professional ethics, and a determination to stand apart from the bitter divisions of partisan politics. However, as Feaver argues, confidence is also shaped by a partisan gap and by social desirability bias, the idea that some individuals express confidence in the military because they believe that is the socially approved attitude to hold. Not only does Feaver help us understand how and why the public has confidence in the military, but he also exposes problems that policymakers need to be aware of. Specifically, this book traces how confidence in the institution shapes public attitudes on the use of force and may not always reinforce best practices in democratic civil-military relations.

Genres: Military Fiction

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 7, 2023

Reviews

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Audiobook) (3.5 stars) This work reads as an expanded academic thesis about the state of public opinion about the military. Given that most people seem to hold a positive view about the military in America, this work sought to figure out how and why. It hasn’t always been this way, and it might not be the case in the future. This work notes how political views can shape perception, but they also note the phenomenon about how people will say positive things about the military as they feel that they are supposed to as a society. Somewhat dry and academic in the narrative, there is good information to be gleamed here. Partisanship will only increase that divide, and the erosion of trust in government offices/officials can and will impact the military. Still, this one can offer the why, even if only based on some survey results.

[Phillip Murrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of statistics, especially when I don't feel the author kept his thumb on the scale and cherry picked stats to support his argument. This book fully scratched that itch. I'm an active duty officer in the U.S. Army. Many of the arguments presented (supported by endless polls and citations) reflected my experiences over two decades, including living in fifteen states and five countries, with three deployments. I did not accept all his final positions (revealed in the final chapter), but I understood why he came to the ones he did. I recommend this book for anyone curious about the civilian-military divide within the U.S., and why many (myself included) see an issue with the reliance on a warrior caste within the U.S.

[Jacqueline Leeker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not recommend this for audible… data heavy with about half the book being charts.

Public confidence in the military is high but hollow according to more than 20 years of data-driven research by author Peter Feaver.

Thanks for Your Service provides insight as to why public confidence in the military appears stronger than it truly is, how confidence levels could change, and what the impacts of those changes are.

The book focuses on subjects military and civilian leaders should be aware of regarding social desirability bias, consequences to recruiting, the importance of accountability, and impacts public confidence levels would have on a war with China. It also provides a lot of great insight to how partisanship impacts how the public thinks of the military.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly survey results.