Along with the kids who entered the military for college educations and the like, there are a pretty fair number of patriots. The fact that the overwhelming majority are republican voters lessens the possibility of their firing on American citizens. Should a second American revolution ever get started, much of the military might well join the side of the patriots. No wonder Hussein wants to assemble his “civilian defense corps.” It will consist of the bow tie wearing Farrakhan thug types, necessary for the continued existence of dictatorships.
Lenin eliminated the former Imperial Army, whose remnants were defeated in the Russian Civil War, and established his own Red Army. Hitler was unable to abolish the old line Prussian military establishment, which supported him initially against the Communists and Socialists. However, he developed a parallel army, the SS or Blackshirts, personally loyal to him, as a counterbalance. Castro converted his guerrillas into the new Cuban Army, and abolished the former military that had served under Batista. Obama's proposal for a civilian defense corps may well be a way to bypass any long term reliance on the existing U.S. Armed Forces, many of whose members, especially in the combat units, are politically conservative.