Of the 45 individuals who have served as
president of the United States , 31 had prior military service, and 14 had none. Their service ranks range from
private in a state
militia to
general of the army .
History
General George Washington Resigning His Commission (1824) by
John Trumbull
Though the
president of the United States is
commander-in-chief of the
United States Armed Forces , prior military service is not
a prerequisite for holding the office.
[1]
Civil War-veteran presidents
After the
American Civil War , public perception of an individual's appropriateness for the presidency was influenced by their combat history. After a spate of such veteran-presidents, that influence diminished before disappearing entirely.
[2]
World War II-veteran presidents
So great was the influence of
World War II on
US politics ,
Dwight D. Eisenhower won the
1952 presidential election without any political experience. This
halo effect of the war benefited the successful
political campaigns of
John F. Kennedy ,
Richard Nixon ,
Lyndon B. Johnson ,
Ronald Reagan , and
Jimmy Carter . However, after the
1988 presidential election , the shine had dulled on military-veteran politicians, and through 2012, "the candidate with the better military record lost ."
[2] As of December 2018
[update] ,
George H. W. Bush was the most recent president to have served in combat (as an
aircraft carrier -based
bomber pilot in World War II).
[3]
Lack of Vietnam-veteran presidents
The 48-year tenure of veteran presidents after
World War II was a result of that conflict's "pervasive effect […] on American society."
[2] In the late 1970s and 1980s, almost 60 percent of the
United States Congress had served in World War II or the
Korean War , and it was expected that a
Vietnam veteran would eventually accede to the presidency. Yet, in the chronology of "major conflicts"
involving the United States , the
Vietnam War is the first to not produce a veteran president, an event that veteran and author
Matt Gallagher called "no small feat for a country spawned
in armed revolution ." By 2017, a "
bamboo ceiling " was described as holding down and preventing those who served in Vietnam from becoming president.
[4]
Barack Obama 's 2006 book
The Audacity of Hope argues that
baby boomers never left behind the anti-military
psychodrama of the 1960s, and that played out in
national politics . During
Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign ,
James Carville succeeded in releasing Clinton's 1969 letter that "outlined his
opposition to the [Vietnam] war and his decision to try his chances with
the draft ." The positive effects of this release proved the diminished cachet of military service in presidential politics.
Donald Trump's 2016 campaign further cemented this; Trump was elected that November despite bragging about
evading the draft , slandering Senator
John McCain and other
prisoners of war , and
publicly feuding with
Gold Star parents
Khizr and Ghazala Khan . Of this, Gallagher said, "What'd once been sacred territory in American politics is now anything but."
[4]
In 2015, journalist
James Fallows described the contemporary American's attitude toward their military as "we love the troops, but we’d rather not think about them".
[5] That same year,
Ken Harbaugh (veteran and
chief operating officer of
Team Rubicon ) claimed to speak on behalf of veterans when expressing his dismay, and argued that all voters should be concerned, that the
2016 United States presidential election had no likely candidates with military experience.
[6] In 2018, Gallagher noted that when given the opportunity to elect Vietnam veterans (
Al Gore , McCain, and
John Kerry ), the US electorate did not do so. He called this emblematic of the public's "vague sense of gratitude for service members" that eschews interest or understanding: " 'Thank you for your service,' but spare the details, please."
[7]
Future
With the
all-volunteer
United States Armed Forces of 2018 comprising 0.5 percent of the
US populace , and "the inherent politicization of the wars [current and future politicians] fought in", Gallagher doubted the viability of future veteran-presidents; "If a
Global War on Terror veteran does someday lead the
White House , it’ll be in spite of their time in uniform, not assisted by it."
[4]
Politics
Asset
George Washington ,
William Henry Harrison ,
Ulysses S. Grant , and
Dwight D. Eisenhower were all
career soldiers who benefited from their popularity as successful wartime
general officers .
[8] Áine Cain of
Military.com called veteran presidents "fitting", given their responsibility at the head of the military's
command hierarchy .
[1]
Detriment
Military service has also been a political millstone for individuals seeking the presidency.
[1]
George W. Bush 's service with the
Air National Guard was
a point of political contention in his
2000 and
2004 campaigns .
[9]
[10] Kerry's tours in
Vietnam
were similarly questioned .
[11] McCain's
2000 and
2008 presidential campaigns saw
the retired captain's service used against him.
[7]
Donald Trump 's
five deferments from
conscription during the Vietnam War dogged
his first presidential campaign .
[12]
Joe Biden received criticism during
his 2020 presidential campaign for his
five student draft deferments .
[13]
Presidents
Bill Clinton , George W. Bush, and Donald Trump all received criticism for deploying the armed forces in combat while having not served in that capacity themselves.
[14]
Policy
This section
needs expansion . You can help by
adding to it .
(June 2021 )
As noted in
The Atlantic , presidents' military histories influence their policy-making in office.
[14]
List of presidents
See also
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Lists related to presidents and vice presidents of the United States
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