I've had the opposite experience. Older airmen are surprisingly left-leaning. I knew one that became socialist after spending time on the Wall. Marines and Rangers tended to be chuddy.

[–] ButtBidet@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not gonna lie, my opinion isn't well researched. Purely on vibes, I struggle to imagine that Amerikan airforce pilots are "left-leaning", in the Hexbear sense. Maybe libs or socdems?

Anyhow this isn't a struggle session as I have no fecking clue about any of this.

[–] 666@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 month ago

Different time. Was offered jail or service when caught with weed. He wasn't carpet bombings kids/wasn't a pilot and while we were still in the middle east he served in more of an air support and refueling roles in Germany. Still not good by any means but I found it interesting that being exposed to the Soviets helped him quickly dismiss propaganda he was fed at home.

Mostly just that a lot of it was lies; most of the things he heard from his superiors and other soldiers at least. He said it just was "a different way of life, one better for the future I'd think"

Interestingly enough, he was a hardcore hippie/Beatles lover that didn't turn out complete shitlib. Not saying he's a communist either; but he doesn't revile at Lenin or Stalin and respected the Soviet Union. That's quite a bit for a soldier back then.