He said young troops particularly question, “why is it that you’re looking at this group but you’re not looking at this group?” In early February, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed commanders and supervisors at every level of the military to conduct a one-day “stand down” - a pause in normal business - by early April to discuss extremism in the ranks.Īs the discussions have gone on, Colón-López said troops have expressed confusion about various groups and questioned why those involved at the Capitol are different than those involved in the racial protests in Seattle, for example, in the wake of the death of George Floyd. “They were geniuses about making sure that they target certain populations to go ahead and get that membership.”Ī recent Pentagon report noted that members of the military “are highly prized by these groups as they bring legitimacy to their causes and enhance their ability to carry out attacks.” “We've seen this movie play before,” he said. He said the Pentagon has to take the threat seriously, noting that the Islamic State and other terror groups in the Middle East used social media to recruit followers. But Pentagon leaders launched an all-out effort to root out extremism in the force after it became clear that a significant number of military veterans and some current military members were present at the January insurrection in Washington, D.C. The military has long been aware of small numbers of white supremacists and other extremists in its ranks. It’s not good for the department and it’s not good for the image of the military.” “And we need to make sure that they stand clear from them. “We do know that our force is being made aware of those organizations that are out there that are actively recruiting people,” said Colón-López. Military leaders are intent on developing training for troops that makes clear they should not get involved with such groups. Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramón Colón-López said Thursday that the Defense Department is talking with federal law enforcement agencies as they develop databases on domestic extremists groups, in the wake of the Jan. ![]() A top official compared the recruitment effort to that undertaken by international terrorist groups trying to lure the support of servicemembers. military is focusing on identifying extremist organizations in the United States that are trying to recruit members from within the armed forces.
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