Feebruary 2, 2025 - Washington DC - Military Veterans are well-respected and seen as strong assets to the civilian workforce, yet negative stereotypes around their mental health persists, according to a new poll from the Call of Duty Endowment, Mission Roll Call and Ipsos, with funding by Activision. This study, which included responses from adults, parents, teenagers ages 14-17, and high school educators (teachers, counselors, coaches, administrators), finds that many see the potential benefits of military service but are hesitant to recommend that path to a young person. Moreover, the majority of teens themselves are not interested in military service. There is more openness, however, among school educators to recommend service, as they recognize more potential benefits from military life than others.
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The survey also shows a clear lack of awareness around the full range of opportunities found through military service and Veterans’ lived experience. When asked factual statements about Veterans’ education level, economic success, physical and mental health, a significant number of American adults and teens are uncertain and unable to provide a response. Nonetheless, those with greater knowledge about Veterans are more likely to recommend service. Finally, there is a clear belief that the federal government does a poor job taking care of Veterans after their service, as well as widespread support for policies to support Veterans’ employment opportunities and physical and mental well-being.
Key findings:
1. A majority of adults and teens respect Veterans, recognizing their potential for success in civilian life after military service.
- About three in five respondents, across all groups surveyed, believe Veterans will succeed in their civilian jobs, with an even higher consensus among educators at 65%.
- Over half (53%) believe Veterans will be happy with their decision to service in the military.
- Adults and teens hold Veterans in high regard, with 76% of the general public and 73% of teens 14-17 recognizing their contributions to society, and three in four Americans valuing them as role models.
2. Even so, perceptions of Veterans do not reflect reality in many cases.
- Despite recognizing Veterans’ contributions to society and the workforce, there is concern for their mental and emotional well-being. Over half of all adults and 64% of teens feel it is likely military personnel will get out with some sort of psychological or emotional problem.
- When asked a series of questions to test Americans’ knowledge about Veterans and their experiences, many are uncertain. For example:
- Veterans achieve greater economic success across their civilian careers than their non-Veteran peers (true). More than a quarter (27%) answered incorrectly and 52% are unsure if that is true or false.
- Veterans are more likely to own a home than their civilian peers (true). Twenty-three percent answered incorrectly and 45% are unsure if that is true or false.
- Just over half of adults (54%) think Veterans are positively portrayed in the media, compared to 62% for active-duty military and 70% for doctors.
3. Public confidence in government efforts to support Veterans is low, while support for enhancing Veterans' services is substantial, underscoring a nationwide acknowledgement of the challenges Veterans face and a commitment to their well-being.
- More than three in five Americans (63%) feel Veterans are poorly supported by the federal government after their service. Sixty percent of parents or teens and 56% of educators feel the same.
- At the same time, there is strong support for a variety of programs to support Veterans. For example, two in three American adults strongly support increasing funding for mental health services for Veterans (92% strongly or somewhat support).
- Adults also strongly back increased job placement programs (90%), physical health service funding (89%), and educational benefits (88%). Attitudes among the general public, parents, and educators are largely consistent.
4. Despite signs of positive recognition for Veterans, many are hesitant to recommend military service to young people. There is slightly more openness among educators to do so, and they are also more likely to see a variety of benefits associated with service.
- A significant portion of adults (55%) and parents (67%) are unlikely to recommend military careers to teens. On the other side, more than half of educators (56%) are very or somewhat likely to.
- An even larger proportion (80%) of teens are not interested in military service as a viable career path for themselves, and 70% are also unlikely to recommend service to their peers.
- As educators show a greater openness to recommend, a majority of educators say education benefits (63%), discipline (56%), job training (55%), and financial benefits (52%) are the top factors that would make them more likely to recommend military service. Among parents, only educational benefits can convince at least half to be more likely to recommend service.
5. Those with greater knowledge of military service are more likely to recommend service to young people.
- Americans express uncertainty about Veterans' experiences, with a significant portion (47%) demonstrating limited knowledge about military life (by answering two or fewer knowledge questions correctly, out of nine). This highlights a potential gap in public understanding of the realities of military service.
- Among non-Veterans, adults with greater knowledge about military service are significantly more likely to recommend service to young people (69%) than those with less (29%).
- Overall, three in ten adults are unsure about whether challenges in military recruitment pose a significant risk to our national security. A plurality of the general public (44%) and parents (47%) agree this is the case. A bare majority of educators (51%), who are slightly more aware of Veterans’ experiences, agree low recruitment rates are a national security issue.
- Overall, while there is a recognition of the value that Veterans bring to society and the workforce, there is a clear knowledge gap on what military service is and the experiences of Veterans.
- Notably, attitudes vary slightly by subgroup, with educators and school personnel being more open to recommending military service and being more knowledgeable about potential benefits, while parents and teens are less knowledgeable and more likely to perceive Veterans’ mental health as worse than the general public. Enhancing communications that highlight the multifaceted value Veterans can offer, including their leadership skills, rich experiences, strong business acumen, and active community engagement, may help bridge this knowledge gap.
About the Study
This Call of Duty Endowment and Mission Roll Call study, with funding provided by Activision, was conducted between September 26 – October 9, 2024, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of the following groups:
- 1,011 general population adults age 18 or older
- 524 parents of children aged 14-17
- 291 teens aged 14-17, obtained through their parents who took the survey
- 205 school personnel (defined as teachers, counselors, or coaches for grades 9-12)
The margin of sampling error for this study is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for results based on the general population sample of adults; plus or minus 4.7 percentage points for parents; plus or minus 6.8 percentage points for teens; and plus or minus 8.2 percentage points for school personnel.
In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.
Weighting
General Population. The design weights for qualified general population respondents were computed to reflect their selection probabilities. They were raked to the below geodemographic distributions of the 18 and over US population. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS) and Party ID benchmarks were based on Pew’s 2024 National Public Opinion Reference survey (NPORS).
- Gender (Male and Female) by Age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, 60+)
- Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) by Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
- Household Income (under $25K, $25K-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
- Party ID (Republican, Lean Republican, No lean/Skipped, Lean Democrat, Democrat)
Parents. The design weights for qualified parent respondents were raked to the below geodemographic distributions of the 18 and over Parent with 14-17 children population. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male and Female) by Age (18-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50+)
- Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
- Household Income (under $25K, $25K-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
Teens. The design weights for qualified teen respondents were adjusted to the below geodemographic distributions of the age 14 to 17 population. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male and Female) by Age (14,15,16,17) ---- Gender in Prefers to self-describe category were treated as one single category and adjusted as KP not-male-not-female gender un-weighted percentage
- Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
- Household Income (under $25K, $25K-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
School Personnel. The design weights for qualified school personnel respondents were raked to the below geodemographic distributions of the adults 18 and over employed population. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Party ID benchmarks were based on Employed General Population sample.
- Gender (Male and Female) by Age (18-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60+)
- Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) by Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
- Household Income (under $25K, $25K-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
- Party ID (Republican, Lean Republican, No lean/Skipped, Lean Democrat, Democrat)
About Ipsos
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Source: Ipsos
