Poll shows high public confidence in military

WASHINGTON — Americans have more confidence in the military than they have in banks, the media, public schools and organized religion, according to a recent national poll.

More than 1,000 adults answered questions about their confidence in 18 U.S. institutions, including the military, for the Associated Press-National Constitution Center poll, conducted in August by market-research firm GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.

In the poll, respondents had more confidence in the U.S. military than in Congress; state, federal and local governments; the Supreme Court; and print, broadcast and online news.

On the question of measuring confidence in the military, 13 percent of respondents were “extremely confident,” 30 percent were “very confident,” and 43 percent were “somewhat confident.” Only 13 percent were “not too confident” or not confident at all, and 1 percent “didn’t know.”

This poll agrees with the results of two recent annual polls — from Gallup in Washington and Harris Interactive in New York — that also show high levels of confidence in the U.S. military.

In the July Gallup survey, 76 percent of people queried said they had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military.

The February Harris poll showed 59 percent had a “great deal of confidence” in the “people in charge of running” the military.