Pantagon attacks extremism within the ranks of America’s military forces

A commission established by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on April 9, released its full report on the threat posed by prohibited extremist activities within the ranks of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and other military forces.

The Countering Extremist Activity Working Group empaneled to examine how the services are implementing actions to curb extremism among military forces has issued a key report and issued instructions for dealing with violations.

“The overwhelming majority of the men and women of the Department of Defense serve this country with honor and integrity,” said Austin. “They respect the oath they took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

“We are grateful for that dedication,” said Austin. “We owe the men and women of the Department of Defense an environment free of extremist activities, and we owe our country a military that reflects the founding values of our democracy.”

At a press briefing, Pentagon press secretary John F. Kirby addressed the recommendations of the working group and the revised instructions.

The revised instruction prohibits active participation in extremist activities and clearly defines what is meant by the term extremist activities, he said.

As Austin has emphasized, the department is focused on prohibited activity; not on a particular ideology, thought or political orientation, he said.

The department has always maintained a distinction between thoughts and actions, he added.

“The new definition preserves a service member’s right of expression to the extent possible, while also balancing the need for good order and discipline to affect military combat and unit readiness. These new updates provide increased clarity for service members and commanders on what qualifies as prohibited extremist activities,” he said.

The secretary heard from personnel across the force about the need to update and clarify this policy during the stand-downs that he directed earlier this year, so the department tried to do that with this new instruction, he said.

Kirby noted that a lot of latitude for interpreting what constitutes extremist activity will be left up to the local commanders who know their service members well and have their fingers on the pulse of what is going on in their units.

The revised instruction prohibits active participation in extremist activities and clearly defines what is meant by the term extremist activities.

Austin emphasized that the department is focused on prohibited activity; not on a particular ideology, thought, or political orientation. The military has always maintained a distinction between thoughts and actions, he added.

“The new definition preserves a service member’s right of expression to the extent possible, while also balancing the need for good order and discipline to affect military combat and unit readiness. These new updates provide increased clarity for service members and commanders on what qualifies as prohibited extremist activities,” he said.