There is no US military anymore, it stopped existing already several decades ago. What there are are chunks and wracks of it out of control, both civilian and military. This is WHY THE ROW MUST INVADE THE US AND PUT AND END TO IT. OTHERWISE LIFE WILL END ON THIS PLANET.

 

After USA TODAY investigation, military finally releases internal extremism report

Will Carless

USA TODAY

More than a year and a half after it was completed, the Department of Defense has finally published a report about extremism in the ranks.

The report was commissioned by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in April 2021 as one of four “immediate actions” announced in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Dozens of current and former members of the military have since been charged with Jan. 6-related crimes.

Earlier this year, a USA TODAY investigation found that the military had little progress to show on its efforts to combat extremism and that many important initiatives appeared to be stalled or incomplete. 

One such effort was that “Study on Extremist Activity within the Total Force.” The study had been completed by the Institute for Defense Analyses in June 2022, USA TODAY first reported, but had never been released.  

On Tuesday, in response to renewed requests to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, that report was provided to USA TODAY for the first time. 

Its 262 pages will be subject to further expert examination and review, but the report offers some quick insight into what the analysis did – and did not – find. 

The report offers scant new data on extremism in the military

Experts on extremism had been waiting for this report, hoping it would shed new light on how bad the military’s extremism problem is. The report’s primary focus was to gain “greater fidelity on the scope of the problem,” according to Austin’s memo in April 2021.

“I just want good data − small, big, minute, whatever, so that we can address the problem,” Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told USA TODAY earlier this year.       

But the report appears to offer almost nothing in terms of new data on the scope of the military’s extremism problem. Instead, it collates existing data from sources including the military’s inspector general. 

The authors of the report did research court martial judgments to search for data on extremists and found 10 such cases. But they acknowledged court martials represent only a tiny sliver of extremists – because most cases don’t end in a court martial. 

“Nearly all of these cases were addressed through administrative action, non-judicial punishment, or referral to command for appropriate action,” the report notes. 

Researchers from the Institute for Defense Analyses did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. 

Investigation:After Jan. 6 riot, hundreds of identifiable people remain free. FBI arrests could take years

The report says extremism appears to be becoming more common in the military 

The report concludes that extremism in the military is rare but dangerous.

“The participation in violent extremist activities of even a small number of individuals with military connections and military training could present a risk to the military and to the country as a whole,” it says.

The researchers used publicly available data on extremism, including the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) database maintained by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland.

The Defense Department report makes the same conclusion START researchers have made: “Participation rates for former service members appear to be growing,” it says.

More:Military told FBI of Capitol riot suspect after Jan. 6 attack. He remained free for years

The military’s security clearance process doesn’t take domestic extremism into account

The report says the military’s process for giving security clearances to military and civilian personnel is outdated and inadequate.

“DOD’s processes for awarding security clearances, assessing suitability, and granting access to facilities still focus to a significant extent on Cold War threats and threats related to the Global War on Terrorism rather than the threat of home-grown extremism.”

The researchers recommended updating and standardizing security and suitability questions across the military to ask directly about prohibited extremist activities.

Military security clearances have been much discussed this year after Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was arrested and charged with posting hundreds of classified documents on a Discord server. 

In addition to Teixeira, three active-duty Marines were charged for their suspected role in the Capitol riot in January. All three Marines worked in intelligence. One was assigned to the National Security Agency headquarters.

Without updating the security clearance process, “the Department remains at risk of unknowingly permitting persons who may have engaged in violent extremist conduct to enter and encumber privileged positions as civilian employees or contractors in the military community,” the report concludes.