WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A new poll designed to assess the views of U.S. military personnel on gays in the military offers a separate insight into the composition of the military.
The Zogby poll comprised 545 military personnel who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan or in combat service roles in direct support of the wars.
Fifty-one percent of the poll respondents identified themselves as Republican, compared to about 30 percent of the public, according to a 2004 survey by the Pew Research Center. About 21 percent are Democrats, about 10 points lower than the general public. Another 22 percent identified themselves as "independent." Seven percent were "not sure."
Demographic information collected in the poll -- and selected to be representative of the military at large -- showed 43 percent of the respondents to be from the South. Another 24 percent were from the west, 20 percent were from central U.S. states and 13 percent were from the east.
Those geographic proportions comport with a 2004 analysis of U.S. military demographics undertaken by the Population Reference Bureau. A disproportionate number of military recruits come from the South, a fact that is often correlated with a presumed Southern military tradition. However, the 2004 study found that there was a higher concentration of young people in Southern states, meaning there is a deeper pool of potential recruits.
Seventy-three percent of the poll respondents were white -- reflective of the general population -- 12 percent were African-American, and 9 percent were Hispanic. Asians, American Indians and Alaskan Natives comprised 1 percent each.
The most prevalent religion among military personnel is Roman Catholic at 29 percent, with no affiliation next at 24 percent, then Baptist (17 percent), Lutheran (7 percent) Methodist (5 percent) and Church of Christ (4) percent. Other religions including Judaism comprised 1 percent or less each.
