Generation X and the military : A comparison of attitudes and values between west point cadets and college students

Abstract

This article compares the value-orientations and attitudes of cadets at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point to those of civilian undergraduate students. By exploring the extent to which young men and women who decided to pursue a professional military career in the mid-1990s are representative of their civilian generational cohort, this analysis allows inferences about the effects of tertiary socialization on social and political attitudes across educational settings. Specifically, this research explores whether there is a civil-military value gap among the members of a generation typically described as apolitical and whether selection (attitudinal differences existing at the time of enlistment) or socialization (increased differences proportional to length of socialization and service) are primarily responsible for attitudinal differences. The study found that, on average, respondents seeking a career of public service in the U.S. military tended to be more conservative, patriotic, and warrioristic than their civilian generational peers. At the same time, members of the military cohort showed less support for global institutions and tended to be less self-oriented.