Opposition to the U.S. military’s role in the Iran war led support among active-duty respondents in a September survey, while a separate poll found broad public concern about fuel prices and troop casualties.
Responsible Statecraft reported Oct. 20 that 48% of serving personnel surveyed opposed the military’s role, a 16-percentage-point lead over support. Change Research conducted the poll for Common Defense, a veteran-led advocacy group that endorses Democratic candidates.
The Sept. 15-28 survey included 431 veterans, 144 immediate family members of active-duty personnel and 156 people serving in the military. Among respondents in the three groups combined, 49% opposed the military’s use in the war and 44% supported it. Those combined figures do not describe the views of each group separately.
The groups differed sharply. Among veterans surveyed, 53% supported the military’s role and 44% opposed it. Opposition led support by 38 points among the family respondents, Responsible Statecraft reported. Across the full survey, 47% of respondents self-identified as Republicans.
A separate Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults, conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 4, found 65% disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of military action in Iran. That was up from 61% in March. Pew also found 73% were very or extremely concerned about higher gas and fuel prices, while 71% expressed that level of concern about U.S. troops being wounded or killed.
The two surveys covered different populations and periods: Pew questioned U.S. adults, while the Change Research poll covered serving personnel, veterans and military family members. Their results therefore should not be treated as a single measure of opinion among service members.
On congressional oversight, 55% of respondents in the Common Defense poll included deployment length and troops’ health, safety and welfare among the top issues they wanted Congress to investigate, Responsible Statecraft reported.
