A Military Times non-scientific survey of subscribers described how President Obama’s “popularity” within the military has “crumbled”:

According to a Military Times survey of almost 2,300 active-duty service members, Obama’s popularity — never high to begin with — has crumbled, falling from 35 percent in 2009 to just 15 percent this year, while his disapproval ratings have increased to 55 percent from 40 percent over that time.

The Military Times piece and another article at the Christian Science Monitor imply part of the reason for the decline is the “heavy-handed social engineering” of the military during the past few years, including the repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving in the US military.

The Military Times article also continued the socially acceptable schizophrenic interpretation of the post-DADT environment in the US military. It first cites sources claiming the repeal of DADT was a “non-event.” From Richard Kohn, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill: 

“We have heard no reporting of the kinds of disruptions that were predicted,” Kohn said. “It has been unsurprisingly smooth. It’s not surprising because military people have always known of gay people and lesbians in their units, and have either accepted them, or abused them based on the quality of their leadership…”

Of the 800 words in the section on DADT, however, about half describe the negative issues and negative impact on military personnel that homosexual advocates simultaneously claim is not occurring:

Bates said his Army husband has encountered hostility from his commanders and fellow soldiers since coming out. He said his husband has heard senior noncommissioned officers use homophobic slurs.

His husband, who is in Kuwait on his fourth deployment overseas, hasn’t been picked to go on missions he asked for, he believes because he is gay…

Some gay troops say lingering homophobia in the military still compels them to hide their sexuality while in uniform…

he’s heard some Air Force chief master sergeants make derogatory, homophobic comments — sometimes including slurs…

Given the impact the repeal has had on religious liberty in the US military, it would have been interesting to correlate the claims of apparent “religious hostility” with other aspects of this survey.  For example, some people equate religious objection to homosexuality (ie, the mainstream Christian belief that homosexuality is a sin) with “homophobia”, and might complain that the presence of Christians with those beliefs is a continuation of the pre-repeal oppression — despite the religious liberty that protects those beliefs.

Apparently this is what some people call a “non-event.”  It’s almost as if certain people need it to be a “non-event,” regardless of the facts.

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