The military does not systematically review social media activity as part of the background check that new recruits go through, “despite collection and reporting of other intrusive, private data, such as financial and behavioral health information,” Speier wrote. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a House Armed Services Committee member, sent a letter urging Austin and other national security officials to more proactively hunt for signs of extremism among new recruits. While the Pentagon figures out how it wants to approach the problem, Democrats in Congress already have some ideas. The military has not commissioned a formal study on extremism in the ranks in more than two decades, but recent outside polling suggests that the problem is on the rise again throughout the ranks. Last year, a Military Times survey found that 36 percent of troops had “seen evidence of white supremacist and racist ideologies in the military,” a 14-point increase from the previous year. “We don’t know how we’re going to be able to get after this in a meaningful productive tangible way,” he said, adding “that’s why” Austin ordered the stand-down in the first place.
Kirby acknowledged as much last week after announcing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to order service members across the ranks to “stand down” from their normal duties at least once over the next 60 days to discuss extremism as a group. The insurrection was a “wake-up call” for the department, spokesperson John Kirby said last week. But while identifying the problem may be a positive step, solving it will be a different-and far more complex-matter.
#PENTAGON ACCELERATES ROOT OUT EXTREMISM RANKS FREE#
Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.Įxtremism in the military is not a new problem, but the involvement of at least two dozen veterans and active-duty service members in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6 gave the issue more urgency with Defense Department leaders.
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