Public opinion of militaries

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Militaries and especially their troops are held in high regard in most countries. In the United States, military officers are regarded as having one of the most prestigious jobs.^[1][2]

While military support is very high in most countries, there is variation. While 10% of Canadians viewed the military as "not at all favorable,"^[3] only 3% of Britons had a "low" or "very low" view of the military.^[4] 65% of Russians believe their military does their job "just about always" or "most of the time".^[5] In the United States, 89% of white Americans had a "very" or "somewhat" favorable opinion of the military, compared to 77% of Latinos and 72% of Black Americans.^[6]

In the United States, public opinion of the military was very low during the Vietnam War.^[7] The public perception increased considerably between the early 1970s to the late 1990s, with the exception of briefly after the Gulf War, when support was around 60%, the percentage of Americans who said they had a "very favorable" view of the US military hovered between 20% and 30%. By 2007, 47% claimed a "very favorable" view of the military and 84% expressed a "favorable" view.^[8]

Opposition to the Iraq War was comparable to opposition to the Vietnam War, but unlike the Vietnam War, opposition to the Iraq War did not correlate with a significant decrease in public opinion of military personnel themselves.

• Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War
• Iraq War protests
• Opposition to the Iraq War
• Protests against the war in Afghanistan (2001–2014)