2. The junior officers and senior enlisted are 80% extremely conservative.
3. The enlisted force is a mixed bag. I'd say 60% conservative, becoming more and more conservative as you approach the pointy end of the spear.
I used to think that there was no way that the U.S. military would fire on U.S. civilians, but there are several factors that I think could bring that on.
1. Propaganda. If they are told that they are dealing with blood thirsty, treasonous, baby rapists, then they will be more inclined to kill them.
2. Response to false flags. If they are fired on while responding to an incident, it won't matter who is firing or from where, they will feel natural pressure to respond to who is around them.
3. Poorly trained troops.
I don't think so much of what would happen if our current front line troops were ordered to shoot, as what could happen in the future if someone wanted to push the military in this direction.
This.
Concur. From someone who has also been in and around the military for 30+ years.
A point that is not being made is that the military does not need to put boots on the ground. The military is not needed to fire TLAMs. I have two daughters in the Navy who know that the mindset of the average sailor or officer is different than that of a Marine or soldier.