JANUARY 4, 2024 – Back in 2021, the Pentagon warned that ‘extremism’ within the ranks was on the rise, which would require ‘detailed new rules’ to prohibit service members from engaging in ‘certain activities.’
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an independent study to get “greater fidelity” on extremism in the ranks. The think tank tasked with the report, the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), was hired to do the study.
The objective of the IDA study was to gain greater fidelity on the scope and nature of extremist ideologies and behaviors in the military community (including service members, former service members, DOD civilians, and contractor employees); identify the sources of such ideologies and behaviors; assess their impact; and develop strategies for preventing, countering, and neutralizing that impact.
To that end, IDA formed three sub-teams: a social and behavioral sciences team, a law and policy team, and a data and technology team. The three teams built a library of governance documents, studies, articles, and data regarding extremist activities and related behaviors.
Together, the teams conducted 57 interviews, including more than one hundred DOD officials and outside experts, and conducted site visits at geographically diverse Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Army installations.
The researchers found that “the prevalence of extremist and gang-related activity that are reflected in court-martial opinions is limited to fewer than 20 cases” since 2012, for example.
One conclusion was that the military doesn’t need a new section of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to punish alleged “extremists” in the ranks, and that commanders can simply rely on Article 116 (riot or breach of peace), Article 88 (contempt toward officials), Article 109 (destruction or damage to property), and Article 115 (communication of threats), as well as others.
The researchers also found that “fewer than ten” out of more than 700 Jan. 6 cases involved active members of the military, debunking yet another leftist claim.
You can view the entire report here.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III addresses extremism in the military in a message released Feb. 19, 2021.