After a year and a half, the Department of Defense has released a report on extremism in its ranks. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin commissioned the report 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 highlighted the military’s limited progress in combating extremism.
Concerns about the effectiveness of the efforts arose as investigators found many crucial initiatives stalled or incomplete. The Institute for Defense Analyses completed a significant initiative, the “Study on Extremist Activity within the Total Force,” in June 2022.
Yet, it had not been released, prompting questions about transparency and accountability in addressing extremism within the military. The unreleased report on military extremism was provided to USA TODAY in response to renewed requests.
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Further, the 262-page document will undergo further expert examination to reveal its findings. The long-awaited report on military extremism aims to provide a clearer understanding of the problem’s scope.
This is per Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s memo from April 2021. Experts anticipate insights into the severity of the military’s extremism.
“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.
The report on military extremism falls short of expectations, providing almost no new data on the scope of the issue. Instead, it primarily compiles existing information from sources such as the military’s inspector general. While researching court-martial judgments, the report’s authors identified 10 cases involving extremists.
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However, they acknowledged that court martials represent only a small portion of extremist cases, as most are addressed through administrative action or non-judicial punishment. The Institute for Defense Analyses researchers did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Extremism in the military is rare but dangerous, warns a report. Even a few individuals with military ties engaging in violent activities can pose risks. The report emphasizes the need to address and reduce this risk for the safety of the military and the nation.
The researchers accessed publicly available data on extremism. This included the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) database. The database is maintained by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland.
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The Defense Department report reaches the same conclusion as START researchers. According to the report, “Participation rates for former service members appear to be growing.” The report highlights that the military’s process for granting security clearances 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.
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