Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
Lloyd AustinOvernight Defense: Pentagon chief expels hundreds of advisory panels | Defense Choice Discusses Trump Transition Barriers | Airship ship returns after 10 months deployment Airship ship to return home after implementation of 10 months monitoring Iran’s secretary of defense removes hundreds of advisory board members in in-depth review MORE ordered on Wednesday that a U.S. military justice office ‘stand still’ to address extremism in the ranks, an issue that Pentagon leaders have long halted but came to the fore after the January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol .
The Department of Defense is still reluctant about the decision on Austin’s decision, which came after he met with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley
Mark MilleyOvernight Defense: FEMA asks Pentagon to help with vaccinations US says Taliban ‘failed to meet commitments’ | Army investigating Fort Hood chaplain Pentagon: Taliban ‘failed to meet their obligations’ under the withdrawal agreement. Democrats, lawyers celebrate end of ban | 5,000 guards living in DC until mid-March and the service secretaries and chiefs Wednesday morning. Leaders are expected to hold “necessary talks” with subordinates on extremism within the next 60 days, department spokesman John Kirby told Pentagon reporters.
Kirby added that more details are coming and that leadership still needs to provide specific guidance on the expectations of the stand-down. He could not say what Austin hopes to learn from the effort or his plans for it.
‘One of the reasons why the secretary wants to do that is to see the extent of the problem. . . . We do not want to underestimate or underestimate the number of people who can influence it, ”he said.
‘It’s perhaps more than we’re comfortable hearing and allowing, and probably much less than what the media attention around it seems to be. But where is it? It’s just not clear. ”
The move is a direct result of events on Jan. 6, when supporters loyal to former President Trump
Donald Trump: Georgia’s Secretary of State is investigating Lin Wood’s illegal voting rights. – including a number of active service members and veterans – the American Capitol stormed violently in an attempt to prevent Congress from confirming President Biden’s election victory.
After the uprising it was discovered that almost 1 in 5 people charged in connection with the riot, has some form of military background.
Austin, the country’s first black defense secretary, promised during his confirmation hearing that he would fight to ‘free our races from racists and extremists.’ However, the Pentagon has little information on how deep the problem runs, which makes it difficult to take action.
It is unclear whether the Pentagon detects how many of its service members have white nationalist or other extremist ideology, or how many troops are led or disciplined for extremist behavior.
Among the few available data points are those provided by the FBI for 2020, which found that 14 of 143 notices of inquiry received by the Pentagon from the bureau of former and current military members concern 68 cases of domestic extremism.
Defense officials have struggled for years to understand the issue of extremism among his servants, although the events of January 6 brought it serious relief and it is very clear that this is something we have not resolved, Kirby said.
The current policy of the Department of Defense expressly prohibits military personnel from actively advocating for and participating in supremacist, extremist or criminal gangs, ideologies or causes, including fundraising or demonstration at a demonstration as part of such groups, recruitment, training , organizing or guiding members or distributing material.
But Kirby said there is still no uniform understanding in the military about how to define extremism and whether it belongs to a racist or violent ideological group like the Proud Boys – a relatively new organization – or whether it is the belief in or distribution. openly false conspiracy theories such as those driven by QAnon supporters. Austin hopes the coach will help the Pentagon determine the answer.
‘[Austin] also frustrated that this is a problem and that we are not better visible, and that we understand it better, ‘Kirby said.