Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
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The Department of Defense still lacks details about Austin’s decision, which came after he met with the joint chief of staff. Mark Milley
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Kirby added that more details will arrive and that leadership has yet to provide specific guidance on stand-down expectations. He couldn’t say what Austin hopes to learn from the effort or his plans for later.
“One of the reasons the secretary wants to take this position is to see the scope of the problem. … We don’t want to overestimate or underestimate the number of people it could affect,” he said.
“It may be more than we feel comfortable listening to and admitting and probably much less than the media attention surrounding it seems to suggest it might be. But where is it? It’s just not clear,” he added.
The decision is the direct result of the events of January 6, when supporters were loyal to the former President Trump
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After the insurrection, it was discovered that almost 1 in 5 people defendants in connection with the riot have some form of military training.
Austin, the country’s first black defense secretary, pledged during his confirmation hearing that he would fight to “eliminate our ranks of racists and extremists.” The Pentagon, however, does little information on the depth of the problem, hindering action.
It is unclear whether the Pentagon tracks how many of its service members have white nationalist or other extremist ideology or how many troops have been flagged or disciplined for their extremist behavior.
Of the few data points available are those provided for 2020 by the FBI, which found that of the 143 investigative notifications the Pentagon received from the office of former and current military, 68 referred to cases of extremism. intern.
Defense officials have struggled for years to understand the issue of extremism among members of the service, although the events of January 6 “caused great relief, and it is very clear that it is something we have not resolved, ”Kirby said.
The current policy of the Department of Defense expressly prohibits military personnel from defending or actively participating in supremacist, extremist, or criminal gang doctrines, ideologies, or causes, including fundraising or demonstration at a rally as part of such groups. , recruitment, training, organization or leadership of members, or distribute material.
But Kirby said there is still no uniform understanding among the military about how to define extremism and whether it includes belonging to a racist or violent ideological group like the Proud Boys (a relatively new organization) or whether it includes believing or spreading. patents false conspiracy theories such as those driven by QAnon supporters. Austin hopes the stand-down will help the Pentagon identify the answer.
“[Austin] He is also frustrated that this is a problem and that we do not have better visibility, better understanding, ”said Kirby.