Troops fear SecDef Austin's stand-down will single out one form of extremism, ignore others
The Army last fall withdrew an anti-extremism poster that mentioned "white" twice, but omitted other ethnicities.
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The pending military stand-down to address "extremism in the ranks" may bring results that go beyond what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected to achieve, according to active duty service members who are scheduled to attend the mandatory sessions.
Austin on Friday ordered all uniformed and civilian leaders in the Defense Department to set aside a day soon to discuss "impermissible behaviors" related to extremism.
"Service members, DOD civilian employees, and all those who support our mission, deserve an environment free of discrimination, hate, and harassment," Austin wrote in the Feb. 5 memo. "It is incumbent upon each of us to ensure that actions associated with these corrosive behaviors are prevented."
Several military personnel who spoke to Just the News said they question whether the mandatory events will focus on politically expedient discussions singling out expansively defined right-wing extremism, while neglecting violent extremism rooted in other political or religious ideologies.
"Is this just the same narrow focus they had to walk back last fall?" one enlisted service member said, referencing a controversial incident from 2020.
In that incident, the Army Provost Marshal General's office produced a graphic image aimed at raising awareness over violent extremism. The graphic was superimposed on a poster, a copy of which was obtained by Just the News. The graphic was posted online, and hard copies were tacked up in military facilities. The image featured the outline of a person, filled with words such as "extremism," "violent," and "supremacist." One prominent word was "white." Another, smaller word also said "white," and another, "neo-Nazi." No other ethnicities nor groups were named.
Following complaints from soldiers who charged that the poster singled out one race, the Army withdrew the poster.
"This was nothing more than an innocent case of bad editing, and as soon as we became aware of the error, the piece was recalled," an Army spokesperson told Just the News. "No offense was intended."
https://justthenews.com/government/security/will-secdef-austins-mandatory-stand-down-address-one-form-extremism-not-others