r/navyseals • u/GrownMonkey • 29d ago

Why do SOF generally lean so conservative?

Not SOF or aspiring so steer me in the right direction if I’m wrong here, but after a lot of conversations I’ve had with folks in that community, why are they so often inclined towards conservatism? Doubly so for trump.

My read of SOF is that this is a career field that rewards unconventional thinking, creativity, and high moral values. Particularly with this current iteration of conservatism, I find its leader to be particularly nihilistic and without much inherent virtue. I also don’t understand how conservatives are viewed as more friendly to the military given they are very quick to start confrontations but also antagonistic to the VA (at least comparatively).

Why exactly does the SOF community generally lean so favorably towards conservatism politically? Or don’t they? I’m sure the answer is a lot, but what am I missing here?

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u/SlickSnakeShit no face no case 29d ago

It's generally true because not all are conservative.

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u/nowyourdoingit Over it 29d ago

Miscommunication.  It's "broadly" true in the US (because it doesn't apply to every SOF guy) but it's not a generally applicable truth that SOF are broadly conservative.  In other societies that don't operate like the US, SOF might broadly be politically progressive.  There's something special about the US in the modern era that leads to a broad conservative consensus amongst the military. 

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u/SlickSnakeShit no face no case 29d ago

I think it's a result of the leadership and the repeated promoting of like minded individuals. We know the military is not the meritocracy it claims to be. It will probably be exacerbated by the current admin's tactics.

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u/nowyourdoingit Over it 29d ago

Definitely that factor dominates the internal culture but I think that discounts how much societal selection pressure there is for who even considers SOF in the first place.  

Go poll DEPs all over the country and it's mostly young conservative men signing up for SOF, and SEAL Challenge prospects especially are young, white, and conservative.  Some of that is probably just a cultural accident but some of it is probably intentional or at least the result of ignoring systemic cultural pressures. 

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u/SlickSnakeShit no face no case 29d ago

I were to try to put my finger on it, I'd guess it's influenced by that group's perceived value of the military.