Posted on 02/03/2021 4:30:45 PM PST by RoosterRedux
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered a DOD-wide stand down to discuss the problem of extremism in the ranks, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said today. Austin and Army Gen. Mark A, Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with service civilian leaders and service chiefs to discuss the problem of extremism. Kirby noted that some of the extremists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 were active duty service members and others were military veterans.
Kirby was quick to say that "the vast majority of men and women who serve in uniform and the military are doing so with honor, integrity and character, and do not espouse the sorts of beliefs that lead to the kind of conduct that can be so detrimental to good order and discipline and in fact is criminal."
Still, Austin said in the meeting with military leaders that while the numbers may be small, they are not as small as anyone would like. "No matter what it is, it is … not an insignificant problem and has to be addressed," Kirby said during a press gaggle in the Pentagon.
The stand down will occur over the next 60 days, Kirby said. This is so "each service, each command and each unit can take the time out to have these needed discussions with the men and women of the force," he said.
There is much that needs to be hammered out including the details of the training that will go along with the stand down and what the secretary and all in the military want to accomplish. The stand down is similar to safety stand downs that units may have, Kirby said.
Austin called extremism in the ranks a leadership issue, and "it's got to be a leadership issue down to the lowest levels, small unit leadership all the way up to him," Kirby said. "So if you consider it a leadership issue, then maybe there will be some potential solutions there to allow us greater visibility."
This is a thorny problem, one that has raised its head in the past. There is a DOD Instruction aimed at this very problem — DODI 1325.06 "Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces."
The DOD Instruction expressly prohibits military personnel from actively advocating for and participating in supremacist, extremist or criminal gang doctrine, ideology or causes, Kirby said.
There are questions that need to be answered, like what constitutes extremist activity? What is permissible in looking for extremists in the ranks?
In the meeting today, Austin made it clear that he is still mulling over how he wants to organize the effort to attack the problem from an institutional perspective, the press secretary said.
The secretary may establish a task force to get after the problem or perhaps another way. "He hasn't ruled anything in or out," Kirby said.
Interesting.
So either they are worried the military will move against them, or that they WON’T move against another target.
Burma must have freaked them out. Wonder why
It is only a matter of time that almost anything said or written by conservatives on college campuses will be labelled as hate speech and cause for explusion.
It is past time to really warn our 19 to 30 year old blood kin not to post anything political on Facebook or whatever.
Those posts could come back to haunt them for decades. They need to delete their online pasts now not later.
This idiot and the rest of the Biden administration are working overtime to generate a sympathy within the ranks of the US armed services toward the thought of a military coup.
The Biden folks are trying their best to insult and alienate honorable, patriotic (no, that is not a “dog whistle” for “right-wing extremists”) American servicemen.
Keep it up and you will have a self-fulfilling accusation/prophesy.
Would transgendered members of the military be considered extreme?
Just part of the new military. The democrats will require the dehumanizing of civilians, especially republicans, to make it easier for them to shoot them. Hard to shoot a fellow citizen. But a “nazi terrorist” no problem. That’s what the extremist rhetoric from the likes of Maxine Waters and the media is all about.
Wow. Their fear is palpable.
Question is...what happens if they find any? Their not just going to send them home with a dishonorable discharge are they?
Ashli Babbitt is unavailable for comment.
You are 100% correct.
Even before PC got out of hand I always reminded my students that employers would check out your Facebook page. They heard it from recent graduates and cleaned up their pages and also changed the message on their answering machines.
I had a Facebook page for about a month. It was for a time the only source of information for my 50th HS reunion. Once a site for the reunion was set up, I dropped Facebook and never looked back.
My nephew is in the reserves and was called up — He is on a base stateside (Not DC). His superiors who have never showed up in the repair shop showed up last week to look for MAGA paraphernalia among the ranks.
I noticed Facebook is archiving posts. Used to be you could delete them straight away. Now you have to work around the system to get them deleted.
That is amazing. Very telling that they were looking for MAGA gear.
It’s going to explode into civil war and Austin will get lynched. We are at the tipping point.
Any White suburban community that refuses to re-zone for Sec 8 ghetto housing.
You are 100 percent correct
“The DOD Instruction expressly prohibits military personnel from actively advocating for and participating in supremacist, extremist or criminal gang doctrine, ideology or causes, Kirby said.”
With exemptions for blm, antifa, communists, black panthers, and every other leftist groups.
We joined about 10 years ago because 2 friends had books published.
After about a month, we left and did everything we could do to erase our electronic footprint.
Google even had a worse on line group. I think we are out of it too.
“If they reinstate the draft, smoke some weed during your interview and physical.”
Actually, being a druggie of any sort is a resume enhancer. . .and no one will be excluded because ANY physical handicap, you know, no arms or legs, the ADA ensures you aren’t “discriminated” against.
Disappointing to see FReepers writing stuff like this.
I, for one, will never teach my offspring to shut-up and comply or even edit themselves for anyone, ever. If they're excluded from the military or the corporatists then those are orgs to be avoided, dismantled or ruined altogether.
i.e. - we need to raise our children as AMERICANS. To fight and win, and never, ever shut up, or give up.
Ahh. . but the constitution means what the democrats want it to mean, and if it doesn’t support them, it will be ignored.
I am well aware of all you say.
My BS comment was directed at their explanation for the shutdown.
Absolutely nothing to justify their actions.
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