US voters want cuts in military spending. Leaders should be aware!

via Defense News.

A majority of Americans favor cutting the US defense budget in five out of seven key areas, including nuclear weapons and missile defense, according to a new University of Maryland survey released March 9.
Nationally, a majority supports modest budget cuts to air power ($2 billion), ground forces ($4 billion), naval forces ($2 billion), nuclear weapons ($3 billion) and missile defense ($1 billion). No majority emerged for either cutting or increasing the budgets of the Marine Corps or Special Ops forces.
In total, a majority of respondents would cut the defense budget by $12 billion. When broken down by party, a majority of Republican respondents would leave the defense budget as is, while the majority of Democrats would cut it by $36 billion (including $11 billion cuts to both air power and ground forces), a larger cut than the $20 billion cut supported by a majority of Independents.

This survey coupled with an earlier one that showed that the majority of Americans no longer believe that the US is the most powerful force on the planet should give military leaders pause.

They're losing the trust of the American people.

What is to blame for this?  Perhaps its a flawed war strategy that acts as if 50 years of continuous combat is a natural thing.  Maybe its the move to put women in combat units.  Could also be a response to what they see as wasteful defense spending (more and more stories are hitting the mainstream press with regard to the F-35 boondoggle).

Either way those at the helm should be alarmed.  The military is crying poverty and no one cares.