How do we deal with the growing disconnect between the military and the citizens and public of the USA?

Some ways to help bridge this growing chasm from the military side:
1. Look professional in and out of uniform/on and off the installation. The taxpayer expects to see a professional soldier not some gang-banger wanna be
2. ACT professional. Yes, we are a brotherhood of warriors and we like to work hard/party hard. One can party hard without getting a bad case of the stupids. Don't go looking for trouble, (happens more than you think) and disengage when you can.
3. Quit going out and trying to get as drunk as possible as quickly as possible. Drunks make bad choices and those choices often lead to a real bad case of the stupids.
4. Take the high road. Be responsible for yourself and your Battle, Shipmate, Wingman.

Perception is reality and if we are out there acting a fool, John and Jane Q Public are going to believe we are. If they see us acting as professionals, they will see that and treat us accordingly. If your Battle, Shipmate, Wingman, etc is acting the fool, take him/her aside and correct them. And try to do it before the guy with all the stripes gets wind of it, and you know he will.

We need to change the perception.

Read this... good study, excellent read... http://amzn.to/2eLdpvC

This division was inevitable when we went to the all volunteer military. Citizens don't have military experience and therefore no understanding of, or appreciation for, what we do.

PFC Harry Leuchen the divide in this nation is not simply between the military and the citizens and public of the USA. It is also against the police and people living out their faiths as well as coal miners and their families.
These problems were accentuated by the current POTUS who has not done much to unite the people of this nation. Some in his administration particularly in the EPA and DOJ have caused more problems than they have worked to solve. Thankfully many in government really do want to serve the people as public servants.
1. Hopefully the next POTUS will use the bully pulpit to unite people and help people overcome the differences among us.
2 Each of us who has served in the military services can help rebuild relationship and trust where we live, work and play. Treat each person you meet with respect. It will not always be returned in kind but over time the situations will improve.
3. Vote strategically to change this nations leadership.
4. Focus on responsibilities instead of demanding rights.
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You know the troops are not without blame in this situation. Just read some of the comments on this site and you will find a lot of anger, resentment, arrogance, and cliquishness here, and an OVERWHELMING sense of entitlement and elitism. Vets need to stop thinking of themselves as better or more patriotic than civilians, and remember why we served --we served on behalf of them.

It doesn't get "fixed". Retirement and public conversation have brought great clarity to this issue. Military members and their families are like patriotic leprechauns to the public. Military relatives tend to love them and have tremendous pride in their devotion to country, but can't always tell you where they are or what they are doing. Citizens without military family members generally have no clue about the military except for movies. I always smile when they stutter and struggle to remember the new popular saying of "thank you for your service". Just be proud of what you do, as there are millions of former military service members that understand the daily grind and reward of the military and are proud of you.

Interesting... Maybe the Militants of the 60's in Congress should stop demonizing... the troops...

More in depth explanation of the growing chasm between the armed forces and the people they swore and oath to defend:

As a veteran of the 37th Engineer Battalion, part of the famous 82nd Airborne Division, I have had ample experience in the military to back up my views that the Armed Forces are growing less and less representative of the U.S people.

But right now, I am speaking from the point of view of a civilian: the people the military swore an oath to defend. A millennial male, not yet 25 years old, who has lived in both New York City and the rural west. I have been to college, and will continue my studies this fall semester. I believe that my views represent those of the average American young adult, the voters, politicians, and citizens of the future.

When the average educated young adult thinks about the military, certain issues pop up immediately. One issue that has been making headlines for some time is the huge crisis of sexual assault within our armed forces. http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2014/12/04/pentagon-rand-sexual-assault-reports/19883155/ When a non-misogynistic person who follows the news sees that this has been a problem for a very long time, and no progress is being made, he or she starts to ask questions about how much the military really cares for the well being of women in uniform. From my experience with the army, the SHARP program is treated like a joke. Nobody, from the privates all the way up the chain of command, seems to actually give a shit about stopping sexual harassment and assault. The word "SHARP" is treated like a joke, a mockery. And even though my experience is very limited, there documented evidence that sexual assault in the "real army" is being covered up at the highest levels. http://warincontext.org/2013/02/27/inside-the-u-s-militarys-culture-of-sex-abuse-denial-and-cover-up/

Another thing which a well-informed person notices about the armed forces is that the racial, religious, and political demographics of the military are not representative of the country. http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-is-not-representative-of-country-2014-7 http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/07/the-widening-gap-between-military-and-society/306158/ The south is way overrepresented in enlistment numbers. The military is far more republican and conservative than the public as a whole. The problem with this is manyfold. First off, the vast majority of the country's educated population, the thinkers and leaders of the future, come from the northeast. In contrast, the less educated, more ignorant south makes up the majority of the armed forces, placing the military years behind the rest of the country in terms of social attitudes and progress.

Also, since conservatives and the republican party are dying out, http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/04/11/the-dying-republican-base/ the political views held by the majority of the military, which are already the minority in the public as a whole, will become even less representative of the country as a whole. A smart, educated citizen can draw no other conclusion than the fact that the military does not represent the people, but is an antiquated, regressive institution whose members are far too reactionary, and far too entrenched in the uneducated, bigoted ways of the south from where most of its members come.

Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer young americans, especially those who are well educated and come from modern and progressive regions of the country, are enlisting in the armed forces? http://www.politico.eu/article/the-militarys-real-problem-fewer-americans-are-joining/ I think not. The modern generation of educated young adults, the future of this country, is tired of the misogyny, the reactionary ideals, and the misguided political beliefs of the average service member.

My generation has seen the rise of a military that has remained very right wing, reactionary, and dominated by white southerners, even as the people they swore an oath to defend become more forward thinking, diverse, and well informed. I fear that as the political and social divide between the public and the military grows, we put ourselves at risk of having a runaway military at odds with the well being of the country, much like in 1970's Argentina or 1930's Japan.

I understand prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the military was dislike in Hawaii. After the attack, they were big heroes. The same after 9-11, but that soon faded away. So maybe it is nothing new. Phony war movies do not help. I was worse late in the Vietnam War period, every movie was anti military.

I just don't have a clue. I wish I did, but I look around me, and I waver between anger and depression half the time. People think that Military people 'can't hack' reality... they see us as abnormal, because our views are so different than the liberal views that are so loud and so overpowering in this country.
You just can't seem to get people to understand that here, in this country, we live in this big bubble. We have, for the most part, food, water, security, and freedom that is taken for granted, without a thought to those who paid for those things with their lives. So many just don't 'GET IT' that those casual freedoms are a rare thing in most of the world, but here, they exist, because of people like us.
I really don't think most will ever understand what we do, or why, until it affects their lives in a personal way, such as someone telling them they aren't allowed to have a beer after work, because it would insult someone's religion, or they missed a few meals because of a disaster, or fell victim to a terrorist attack... then suddenly we're shoved out in front while they go right back to Starbucks, to get on Facebook, take Selfies, and find out what the Kardashians are wearing.
That gap between our reality and the rest of America is widening by millimeters each and every day, because we did our jobs so well, people have forgotten what lies outside our big American bubble.