Men's Journal Surveys the Troops

[LynnsABCs]

[BillyIdaho]

Not sure whether the local troops here that are activated are changing their tune (never met a Democrat/Green in Idaho military 'sept me), but it would be interesting to see a study done on the deployed NG and Res. soldiers. In case you didn't know, Idaho is the most politically lopsided state in the Union, dominated by Repubs. Will some change their tune now that some ( or their families, employers, etc.) might see their self interest in voting for the candidate that (perceptually) would bring them home the soonest?

One question I had about NG and Res. deployment was this: Are the troops being deployed from staunchly Republican/Democrat bastions where they may be less likely to become "swing" voters? For instance, are a higher percentage of units being deployed from places like Idaho vs. a "battleground" state like Florida or PA?
That seems like it would be solid political strategy.
No idea if it is the case. I can say the Idaho NG just sent it's largest Brigade in it's inventory just recently to Iraq (they enter the country in Nov after training at Ft. Bliss, where they ar now.). Be interesting to see Pelican's from the "battleground" states chime in, or someone do research as to whether these states are sending units.

[techweenie]

Wow, Dave. Never even thought about that. Very smart.

[350HP930]

I know all the base closings have been extremely political. I would not be suprised if the same applies to which reserves are called.

[widebody911]

Recently, an 'embedded' reporter was expelled after writing a story on morale that didn't exactly cast the military in the best light.

[BillyIdaho]

Well, I researched this hypothesis on the web today. From what I could tell, there seems to be an even distribution of activations among the states. Here is one of the places I looked: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat.htm

Two good thing about what I think I have found:

1. The military is deploying troops that are the ones they want, vs. the ones they are told they can have due to some political agenda. This is nice to see - I wish our troops success, and they best know how to accomplish the given mission (I hope).

2. The "battleground states" now have more of an swing potential. I personally hate the term "swing voter", but it may apply here.
People vote a certain way to further their own self interest, IMO. In this case, bringing loved ones, and even valued employees home sooner could provide the motivation (self interest) to create swing voters in these states. We will see how it pans out, and how each of the candidates pitches to the voters in these areas.

Anyway you slice it, there are a number of dimensions to this election that will certainly make it interesting.