Which Branch of the Armed Forces Is Most Important? (2024)

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The U.S. Army and the Marine Corps are now tiedwith the Air Force as Americans' choice as the most importantbranch of the United States' armed forces, with the Navy and theCoast Guard far behind. This represents a significant change in theperceived importance of the branches from as recently as two yearsago, when the Air Force was seen as the most important branch. Atthe same time, the Marine Corps has maintained its dominantposition as the most prestigious branch of the service, andis named by more than twice as many Americans as any other armedforces branch.

Ground Forces Gain Ground as Most Important

As far back as the 1940s and 1950s, Gallup Polls showed thatAmericans were overwhelmingly most likely to name the Air Force asthe branch of service most vital to the nation's defense.

• In July 1949, the Air Force was chosen by 84% of Americans whenasked: "If the United States should get into another World War,which branch of the Armed Forces do you think would play the mostimportant part in winning the war?"

• In August 1951, with the United States in the middle of theKorean War, the Air Force still came in No. 1, with 70% ofAmericans saying it was the "most important." The Army was farbehind at 14%.

• In October 1960, just before the presidential election thatpitted two former Navy officers -- John F. Kennedy and Richard M.Nixon -- against one another, 62% of Americans chose the Air Forceas the most important branch of service.

This primacy of the Air Force persisted in more recent yearswhen Gallup once again began asking Americans about the armedforces branches, albeit in slightly different form.

In May 2001, Gallup asked Americans which of the branches of thearmed forces they considered to be "most important to the nationaldefense" today. The Air Force was overwhelmingly the most likely tobe named, chosen by 42% of Americans, well over twice as many asnamed the Army (18%), the Navy (15%), and the Marines (14%). (TheCoast Guard, at that time part of the Department of Transportationexcept in times of war, was not included in the 2001 list, but hasbeen included in the years since.)

In April 2002, the response pattern was basically the same. TheAir Force was again No. 1, with the Army, Navy, and Marines farbehind.

But this year, the May 21-23 poll found a significantlydifferent pattern of perceived importance. Both branches of thearmed forces whose primary mission is on the ground -- the Army andthe Marine Corps -- have become more likely to be mentioned as themost important, while the Air Force and the Navy have slipped. Theresult: The Army, Air Force, and Marines are now tied as the mostimportant branches of the service, with the Navy and Coast Guardsubstantially less likely to be chosen.

Most Important Branch of the U.S. ArmedForces?

This year's survey shows a seven-point increase (since 2002) forboth the Army and the Marine Corps in the number of Americans whosee each of these as the most important branch of the service. Atthe same time, there has been a 13-point drop for the Air Forcesince 2002, and an 8-point drop for the Navy.

It is almost certain that the intense focus on the role beingplayed by the Army and the Marines in the current conflict in Iraqis the primary reason for the change in perceived importance of thebranches. Most of the news coverage of the war has focused onground soldiers -- dressed in their characteristic camouflageuniforms -- wielding rifles and other infantry weapons as they goabout their duties in that country. Most of the casualties of thewar have been ground soldiers, and the primary high-rankingofficers who have high visibility in Iraq are in the Army.

The Army has suffered negative publicity from its involvement inthe Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, but if nothing else, theprison situation focused even more attention on the major role theArmy is playing in Iraq.

Although Air Force and naval aircraft were a big part of theinitial "shock and awe" campaign that kicked off the Iraq war inMarch 2003, the visibility given the role of air (or sea) power hasbeen low as the war has dragged on over the past year.

Most Prestigious

There is a difference in the way in which Americans see theimportance of the branches of the armed forces and their prestige.Each of the three times Gallup has asked Americans to name thebranch with the most prestige, the Marine Corps has been theoverwhelming winner. That pattern persists this year.

Most Prestigious Branch of the U.S. ArmedForces?

This year, 44% of Americans say that the Marine Corps is themost prestigious service branch. That's the highest since 2001, andthe Marine Corps remains far ahead of any other branch on thisprestige dimension. But the percentage mentioning the Air Force asmost prestigious has dropped from 32% in May 2001 -- just fourpoints less than mentioned the Marines that year -- to 20% thisyear.

Additionally, despite its gain in perceptions as the mostimportant branch, there has been little change in views of the Armyas most prestigious. It was chosen by 11% of Americans in 2001, 13%in April 2002, and 15% this year. The Coast Guard is up to 5%,while the Navy has fallen to 8%.

There are few dramatic differences by age in views of theprestige of the armed services branches, although the Marine Corpsis significantly more likely to be chosen as most prestigious bymen than by women.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomlyselected national sample of 1,002 adults, aged 18 and older,conducted May 21-23, 2004. For results based on this sample, onecan say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable tosampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points.In addition to sampling error, question wording and practicaldifficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias intothe findings of public opinion polls.

22. Just off the top of your head, which of the five branchesof the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the mostprestigious and has the most status in our society today --[ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, (or) theCoast Guard]?

BASED ON --506-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

23. Just off the top of your head, which of the five branchesof the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the mostimportant to our national defense today -- [ROTATED: the Air Force,the Army, the Navy, the Marines, (or) the Coast Guard]?

BASED ON --496-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B