I was in the Navy and live in a strong Navy town. The people who make the screws turn and guns fire are predominantly conservative with a very dim view of leftist ideas. I don’t know what the average 19 year old deck div striker thinks, but they probably start out as young lefties until their Chief shows them the value of a hard day’s work.
The officers who want to be career officers are beginning to lean left, as their Admirals tell them to be.
My thinking is along those lines as well, but with the added thought that Conservatives under are probably doing what they did under Clinton, and Carter. Keeping quiet, staying out of sight, and not making waves.
Long-term, if the country survives Obama, we might be able to return things to what they were, but we have to acknowledge that the Statists are currently in the ascendency as far as public profiles are concerned.