It is obscene & dangerous to use soldiers who risk their lives for America as political pawns,” tweeted Colorado Rep. “This is nothing but a political litmus test of our brave men & women. And when you start acting on those beliefs, whatever they are, and not all extremists in the military are motivated by politics, but whatever the motivation is, when you violate good order and discipline, when you violate the UCMJ, or you violate civil laws, then we've got a problem.”Ī POLITICAL LITMUS TEST? Some on the Right see the new anti-extremism campaign as a move to purge the military of their supporters. It's about how you act with those beliefs. “It's about what you do with those beliefs. It's not about what you believe,” Kirby insisted. So what about troops who might still believe former President Donald Trump’s discredited claim that he actually won the election and that President Biden is an illegitimate commander in chief? Military personnel must not actively advocate supremacist, extremist, or criminal gang doctrine, ideology, or causes, including those that advance, encourage, or advocate illegal discrimination based on race, creed, color, sex, religion, ethnicity, or national origin or those that advance, encourage, or advocate the use of force, violence, or criminal activity or otherwise advance efforts to deprive individuals of their civil rights. The Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI 1325.06), “Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces,” says in part: the secretary and the chiefs are asking - how do you define it?” “The definitions that we're operating under now were based on a 2012 instruction, and so do we need to revisit that?” Kirby said. ‘IT’S NOT ABOUT POLITICS’: While the crackdown appears focused on identifying far-right extremists or white supremacists, the Pentagon says it is also reviewing how it defines an extremist. “That's what the secretary wants to get after.” “We are worried that the numbers may be more than what we'd be comfortable seeing them be at this point, and obviously the number should be zero, but I'm saying that the numbers may be bigger than what we may think,” Kirby said. 6 storming of the Capitol by a mob which included former and current military members and said his effort to root out extremists was informed by his experience decades ago as a young lieutenant colonel in a unit of the 82nd Airborne division that had neo-Nazi skinheads among its soldiers. The stand-down, to be conducted sometime in the next 60 days, is meant to reinforce department policies by reminding troops of the importance of their oath of office along with a description of impermissible behaviors and procedures for reporting suspected, or actual, extremist behaviors.Īt the Pentagon Friday, spokesman John Kirby described Austin as “galvanized” by the Jan. ‘NUMBERS MAY BE BIGGER THAN WE THINK’: The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s Friday memo ordering a one-day stand-down for military leaders and civilian supervisors to discuss the problem of extremism in the ranks with their personnel is not aimed at any one group.
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