The Harris Poll indicates that the percentage of Americans placing “a great deal of confidence” in the US military over the past six years has dropped from a high in 2002 of 71 percent to 47 percent in 2006, but it still outshines confidence in the White House. In the same period, the “great deal of confidence” factor for the White House is half what it was in 2002, dropping from 50 percent to 25 percent. The military consistently has topped the Harris Poll confidence index since 1992.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
