ABSTRACT
Increased negative perceptions of the military by civilians would perhaps erode the professional mystique that sometimes discourages outside efforts to participate in decision making on military issues. The proportion of officers who believed that civilian groups treated the military fairly also declined between 1971 and 1975. One of the most interesting findings is that officers who believe that a gulf exists between the military and civilians also tended to espouse more traditional methods of leadership and motivation. The Vietnam war was clearly the most traumatic experience for the US military in recent history. Although it by no means represented all current foreign policy tasks, it structured much contemporary thinking on foreign policy. The officers' feelings of separation and distinctiveness were related to their feelings that the military was successfully adapting to important changes in its environment.
