Do you think that it should be a prerequisite to have military experience before a person can become President?

YES!!!!!! And I think senators should too!...SO there...LOL

YES!!! That way we don't have idiots screwing up our military...

I would like to know our president has had military experience. For sure.

Yes.... REAL, ACTUAL, FULL military experience.

Absolutely NOT. There should not be a prerequisite whatsoever to be president aside from being born in the USA and being elected and voted for by the people who are citizens in this country. If you put on more prerequisites than that, it would leave us with very limited choices, and not all leaders need to have military experience. People just need to not be such dumbasses when they vote on ALL elected government officials, not just the president.

Absolutely NOT. There should not be a prerequisite whatsoever to be president aside from being born in the USA and being elected and voted for by the people who are citizens in this country. If you put on more prerequisites than that, it would leave us with very limited choices, and not all leaders need to have military experience. People just need to not be such dumbasses when they vote on ALL elected government officials, not just the president.

I agree, though I do think the military builds a kind of character that I would like to see in a Pres.

While I don't ever seeing it as becoming a prerequisite to being nominated, I believe it is a wonderful thing to have. Being Commander in Chief of our entire military forces may go smoother if the person had knowledge and personal experience. With that said, I think there have been many great presidents without military experience as well as with it.

I have always said yes to this. How can someone be Commander In Chief to our military if he has never been in the military?

I have always said yes to this. How can someone be Commander In Chief to our military if he has never been in the military?

I have to agree with Traci on this one. Not that I think it would ever happen, but it would make alot of sense.

No, there have been perfectly competent people with no military experience who have been terrific presidents, just as there have been incompetent people without military experience. There have been incompetent leaders with military experience and vice versa. It helps to understand the military is not a business (which they are trying to run it like such these days..) and you have to respect the traditions.

No, I do not think it should be a requirement...... I think being a LEADER should be a requirement.

I think it would be ideal, yes.

I think things would be smoother then they are now, if our President knew first hand what War, and deployment was really like, from both sides.

We need a President that can sympathize with both sides of the field. Leaving for war, and leaving your love ones behind.

Anyone has to be better then Bush, in my opinion.

I think things would be smoother then they are now, if our President knew first hand what War, and deployment was really like, from both sides.

We need a President that can sympathize with both sides of the field. Leaving for war, and leaving your love ones behind.

Anyone has to be better then Bush, in my opinion.

But not every generation has had War or deployments, Take the 80's for instance, my dad never went to War while he was in ( well married with kids I should say) and had he been in the army instead of navy he wouldn't have gone on deployment.

Absolutely NOT. There should not be a prerequisite whatsoever to be president aside from being born in the USA and being elected and voted for by the people who are citizens in this country. If you put on more prerequisites than that, it would leave us with very limited choices, and not all leaders need to have military experience. People just need to not be such dumbasses when they vote on ALL elected government officials, not just the president.

:agree :yes

I think it would be ideal, yes.

:yes

No, there have been perfectly competent people with no military experience who have been terrific presidents, just as there have been incompetent people without military experience. There have been incompetent leaders with military experience and vice versa. It helps to understand the military is not a business (which they are trying to run it like such these days..) and you have to respect the traditions.


I agree with the bolded statements, and I would prefer a president who had military experience

It would be a "bonus" if there was actual military experience...but I feel having military advisors in place is sufficient. :shrug

No.

Since President Truman, only one president had NO military service whatsoever (this includes National Guard and Reservist duty). Out of ALL the presidents, 12 had no military service.

(From Wikipedia)


George W. Bush Texas Air National Guard First Lieutenant Stateside service during Vietnam War (1968-1973). See also: George W. Bush military service controversy.
Bill Clinton None
George H.W. Bush United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant World War II (1942-1945) Youngest fighter pilot in Navy.
Ronald Reagan United States Army Reserve, United States Army Air Corps Captain Stateside service during World War II (1942-1945); Army Reserve 1937-1942)See also: List of United States Presidents by military rank and Ronald Reagan for more information on military service.
Jimmy Carter United States Navy Lieutenant World War II at the United States Naval Academy Sea duty and stateside service 1946-1953
Gerald Ford United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant Commander World War II (1942-1945; discharged in 1946)
Richard Nixon United States Naval Reserve Commander World War II (1942-1945)
Lyndon B. Johnson United States Naval Reserve Commander World War II
John F. Kennedy United States Navy Lieutenant World War II (1941-1945)
Dwight D. Eisenhower United States Army General of the Army Stateside service during World War I. Served as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II (1942-1945). Entire career spanned from 1915 until 1952.
Harry S. Truman[1] United States Army, United States Army Reserve Colonel World War I (1917-1918); was then transferred to the army reserve and discharged in 1927.

Absolutely NOT. There should not be a prerequisite whatsoever to be president aside from being born in the USA and being elected and voted for by the people who are citizens in this country. If you put on more prerequisites than that, it would leave us with very limited choices, and not all leaders need to have military experience. People just need to not be such dumbasses when they vote on ALL elected government officials, not just the president.

I agree. Some CIVIL SERVICE before politics would be nice (not specifically military service), but this is a FREE country. Besides being born here and being a certain age, it kinda defeats the purpose of being able to overthrow your government if it is corrupt if you limit who can serve in public office.

Absolutely NOT. There should not be a prerequisite whatsoever to be president aside from being born in the USA and being elected and voted for by the people who are citizens in this country. If you put on more prerequisites than that, it would leave us with very limited choices, and not all leaders need to have military experience. People just need to not be such dumbasses when they vote on ALL elected government officials, not just the president.

I totally agree! It might be nice, but the military is just one thing the president is in charge of. He also has to be responsible for making decisions about so many other areas of life that affect people and are just as important...so if he had to be in the military, why not have to have experience in all of those other areas as well? And obviously that's just not possible.

I think the most important thing is that he be a strong leader and have the ability to delegate and listen to the opinions of those who are experts in their field. Like someone else said, that's what he has military advisors for--just like he doesn't have to be a doctor, that's why there is a surgeon general, and he doesn't have to be a lawyer, that's why there is an attorney general, etc.

Now if the question was should the Secretary of Defense have military experience.. I would have to say YES. LOL.

Yes.

My first response when I read the question was "absolutely, it should be required", but then I thought....if I had to name the greatest president ever, who would it be?

Without a doubt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

He was a war-time president who obviously had never served, you know that pesky polio tends to keep a man down.

I think military experience is a plus, but not a guarantee that one is a good leader. Lets face it, there are servicemembers who shouldn't have command of a working party, forget a platoon, a ship, nevermind a country.

I think any president that intends to start a war should have been in one. So, yes. I think it would be an excellent requirement - they are Commander In Chief, they should know whisky tango foxtrot they are talking about.