DOD Taking Steps to Prevent Sexual Assault, Extremism
FEB. 19, 2021 | BY DAVID VERGUN , DOD NEWS
Sexual assault and extremism will not be tolerated in the Defense Department, and steps are being taken to ensure that, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today at a Pentagon press briefing.
"I take this issue of sexual assault very, very seriously. And I know that the service chiefs and the service secretaries do as well though," Austin said.
The collection of the data on sexual assault and harassment is just a first step, he added. The department will look into what's work[ed] to prevent this and what hasn't and what additional measures need to be taken to ensure a safe, secure and productive environment for all personnel.
"I think any other approach is, in my view, irresponsible. We've been working at this for a long time in earnest, but we haven't gotten it right. In my commitment to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and dependents, we're going to do everything in our power to get it right," he said.
Extremism tears at the very fabric of unit cohesion, Austin said.
"It's important for us to be able to trust the men and women on our left and right," he said.
Austin mentioned that a few weeks ago he asked the services to conduct a one-day stand-down and gave them 60 days to provide a top-to-bottom review of extremism. "As I conduct that stand-down, I've encouraged [leaders] to have a dialogue with their troops about our values, about the oath of office they took when they came into the service, and about who we are and what we're about," he said.
"This is also a time for us to educate leaders in terms of understanding those signs and symptoms that can indicate that we could be developing an issue within our ranks," he added.
Austin mentioned he believes that99.9% of service members believe in that oath, embrace core values, and are committed to doing the right things.
https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2508894/dod-taking-steps-to-prevent-sexual-assault-extremism/
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/04/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-calls-60-day-stand-down-discuss-extremism-military/
4 Feb 2021
Austin, the department’s first black defense secretary, had vowed during his confirmation hearing on January 19, 2021, to “rid our ranks of racists and extremists.”
Pentagon officials say they are not sure yet how big the problem of extremism in the military is.
According to the New York Times, the FBI notified the Department of Defense it had opened criminal investigations involving 143 current or former service members in 2020. Of those, 68 were related to domestic extremism cases, and one-quarter of those were associated with white nationalism.
There are approximately 1.3 million active-duty members and reservists in the U.S. military.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby cited the protests at the Capitol on January 6 to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election, where some pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building and engaged in violence with police.
He said the presence of veterans and active-duty service members at the protests was a “wake-up call” for the Pentagon.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called the stand down a “political litmus test” for the military.
“Biden’s Defense Secretary ordered a 60 day service-wide stand down to address ‘extremism’ within the US Military. This is nothing but a political litmus test of our brave men & women.It is obscene & dangerous to use soldiers who risk their lives for America as political pawns,” Boebert tweeted.