Dozens of Troops Suspected of Advocating Overthrow of US Government, New Pentagon Extremism Report Says

[Eugene]

Related: Annual Report to Congress Pursuant to FY 2021 NDAA, Section 554 (Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense)

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Source: Military.com

Dozens of Troops Suspected of Advocating Overthrow of US Government, New Pentagon Extremism Report Says

Military.com | By Konstantin Toropin
Published December 01, 2023 at 5:16pm ET

An annual Pentagon report on extremism within the ranks reveals that 78 service members were suspected of advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government and another 44 were suspected of engaging or supporting terrorism.

The report released Thursday by the Defense Department inspector general revealed that in fiscal 2023 there were 183 allegations of extremism across all the branches of military, broken down not only into efforts to overthrow the government and terrorism but also advocating for widespread discrimination or violence to achieve political goals.

The statistics indicate the military continues to grapple with extremism following its public denunciations and a stand-down across the services ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2021. Furthermore, the numbers do not make it clear whether the military's approach is working. In 2021, the year the data was first released to Congress, there were 270 allegations of extremist activities. In 2022, that figure dropped to 146 before rebounding over the past year.

The Army had the most allegations in fiscal 2023 with 130 soldiers suspected of participation in extremist activity. The Air Force suspected 29 airmen; the Navy and Marine Corps reported 10 service members each. For the first time, the inspector general also reported numbers for the Space Force as a separate entity from the other services -- it suspected four Guardians of extremism.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/12/01/dozens-of-troops-suspected-of-advocating-overthrow-of-us-government-new-pentagon-extremism-report.html

[stopdiggin]

1. well at least they are - acknowledging

was originally going to use the term 'confronting' - but that would depend on how forcefully they are pursuing - and then actually weeding out the infected.

Let's be honest - with the services having trouble recruiting and maintaining 'numbers' - there is probably some genuine reluctance among brass to jettison what are probably otherwise viewed as 'fit' troops. And then, next up - have to acknowledge that far right views are not precisely unknown among the brass either ... (surely don't imagine that Michael Flynn is the only wingnut with rank .. )

[Think. Again.]

2. Of course this should be pursued and investigated....

...until any suspicions are cleared.

We simply can't have enemy combatants in our armed forces.

On another note, does anyone else still gringe with embarrassment at the mention of the 'space force'?

[cbabe]

3. Gangs in the military

Either looking for a new life outside of a gang or… to learn skills useful to a gang…

https://www.military.com › daily-news › 2020 › 08 › 17 › army-street-gang-activity-increasing-internal-report-shows.html

Army Street, Motorcycle Gang Activity Is Increasing ... -

Military.com
Outlaw motorcycle gangs, or OMGs, which had a 33% increase in overall violent activity from 2017 to 2018, saw the most Army-connected

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Anybody else want to know if the problem is bigger in one branch of the military over the other?

[hlthe2b]

5. I'd more like to know the resolution of those cases for those they identified.

And how recruiting is changing to address this. Are they screening social media-just as a potential employer would?

[Baitball Blogger]

6. These kind of people are influenced by group think.

I don't believe they're isolated cases.

[TwilightZone]

7. A breakdown is noted toward the end of the excerpt.

"The Army had the most allegations in fiscal 2023 with 130 soldiers suspected of participation in extremist activity. The Air Force suspected 29 airmen; the Navy and Marine Corps reported 10 service members each."

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Thank you!

Sad about the Army.

[JoseBalow]

10. and 4 Space Force Guardians!

[LudwigPastorius]

8. Prosecute them all.

The penalty for advocating the overthrow of the government is a max 20 years.