" … the sorts of beliefs that lead to the kind of conduct that can be so detrimental to good order and discipline and in fact is criminal."
Still, Austin said in the meeting with military leaders that while the numbers may be small, they are not as small as anyone would like. "No matter what it is, it is … not an insignificant problem and has to be addressed," Kirby said during a press gaggle in the Pentagon.
The stand down will occur over the next 60 days, Kirby said. This is so "each service, each command and each unit can take the time out to have these needed discussions with the men and women of the force," he said.
There is much that needs to be hammered out including the details of the training that will go along with the stand down and what the secretary and all in the military want to accomplish. The stand down is similar to safety stand downs that units may have, Kirby said.
Austin called extremism in the ranks a leadership issue, and "it's got to be a leadership issue down to the lowest levels, small unit leadership all the way up to him," Kirby said. "So if you consider it a leadership issue, then maybe there will be some potential solutions there to allow us greater visibility." defense.gov
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As is mentioned in this piece there are already regulations and instructions "on the books" that prohibit radical (whatever that is) political action by members of the US armed forces. Kirby is a retired admiral who has always been a political hack and PR creature. He made a career in Navy as a talking head.
Austin himself seems to be talking about the political views and actions of former military people as well as people now in the regular forces, and the reserve components. Is he also talking about people like me who are retired from the armed forces? We are still members.
He mentions that "beliefs" of a kind that he doesn't like are leading to conduct that is "in fact criminal." Beliefs? Really?
Austin makes it clear that for him the existence of such criminal beliefs will be a "leadership issue." That means that if you are a squad leader (sergeant) or a ship's CO, complaints about your command concerning criminal beliefs will be cause for destruction of your career. Military people want to succeed in their careers. The result of this kind of command pressure from above will be waves of secret denunciations and expulsion from the services.
IMO those most likely to be judged criminal dissidents will be in the ground combat arms; infantry, artillery, armor, SOF, combat aviation. Why? Simple, this is where the most aggressive and assertive are to be found.
Where will they go? You know where they will go. pl
I’m looking forward to seeing Barack’s Loyal Militias incorporated into the regular forces. Everyone knows they have the ‘right’ beliefs. How long before “MAGA” is declared a subversive belief? The left already turned red hats into a symbol they hate and one which they support inflicting violence upon wearers, as we’ve seen repeatedly over the past four years.
The purpose is to dismantle the US military, or at least render it harmless. Driving off the talent is how you destroy an institution. It happens all the time in the business world where acquired companies are effectively dissolved or “run off” by the new masters.
This feels like a very very big deal. Like self destruction.
They shut down the economy for almost a year now. They could have provided health care for all and bailed out the citizens and everything might be a bit more manageable. But thats not on the table. Destruction of the very thing that protects them is. I’m just not seeing a way where this works out for the Federal Government.
The ongoing purge in the Armed Forces comes under the heading of Very Bad Ideas. What next Loyalty Officers?
Purging the Armed Forces worked so well in baghdad
EEngineer note has a lot of historical parallels.
Purging extremists of all stripes may be needed to maintain professionalism, but this always degenerates into purity tests for who will thrive.
Erdogan’s purges after the failed coup have turned Turkey’s armed forces into an incompetent loyalist militia.
And Nehru in newly independent India with uncertainty in how democracy will work out, stuffed the armed forces with his family and friends. It took Mao’s punch to his nose in 1962 to recover from that debacle.
On the other hand if they are busy with these purges, one can be relieved that any new regime change adventures are not imminent.
Obama got away with it, although his purge didn’t get very far down – maybe an O-6 here and there.
He did successfully replace many flag ranks with politically correct apparatchiks so now admirals have to worry about pregnant submariners and women can become “Rangerettes.”
Fighting force?
LMAO.
How did they miss screening the Muslim extremists who did shoot up military bases. Then they can reverse engineer from that “ideological” failure.
Does this have anything remotely to do with China wanting no US military intervention in Hong Kong or Taiwan?
Which is more secure – a country with its persons armed or a country where both the military and the populace is unarmed.
As presented on another blog – sensible gun policy assumes the other person is armed before anyone else with a gun acts stupidly.
MAD – mutually assured destruction proved to we a winning concept in the Cold War. Don’t shoot, because I may well shoot you first. Gives one pause. Versus, take all guns away for self-protection except the guns the bad guys can and will get for themselves.
Covid mentality was softening the blow – assume 100% are guilty and make them give up their rights, to protect the 1% you can’t control.
EEngineer,
IMO you are spot on. All this nonsense appears to me less and less like a shortsighted folly of ideology and ignorance and more like a purposeful, strategic process to degrade the capabilities of the United States from within – economic, military, and cultural. The way I see it, we are being subject to this gradual but persistent degradation for one purpose – the eventual submission of the United States to a new role as a vassal state of the People’s Republic of China.
I firmly believe the CCP has so vastly and thoroughly seeded its influence across so many of our social, political, and cultural institutions, that there are a great many people in positions of power in this country whose loyalty does reside with the Republic as our founders conceived it, but rather with their Chinese masters who have promised them a share of the spoils if they cooperate. I’m speaking specifically of many members of academia, a great many members of the Democrat party including the current president (and some establishment R’s as well), and a huge swath of the mainstream media. Now it seems these include elements of the higher command ranks of the military, as well. They are in serious thrall to Chinese money and influence.
However, I don’t think it is only money that animates them. These people also view the Chinese model as an example to be emulated rather than abhored. And in their pursuit of the kind of the power that the CCP wields over its own citizens, they will happily cede our national sovereignty to the CCP. As I’ve said before, these people would rather have titular rule over a pile of ashes than not rule at all. At the risk of a somewhat juvenile analogy, it’s like Saruman’s deal with Sauron in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – “Against the power of
MordorBeijing there can be no victory… We must join withSauronXi. It would be wise, my friend.”We are headed toward a situation in which the CCP will eventually execute an act of military aggression that would normally require a decisive military response, and none will be forthcoming. At that moment, the game will be exposed to all.
A significant portion of our institutions and our body politic are now bent towards the interests of the CCP rather than the interests of the Republic. In short, if the People’s Army landed here on Cannon Beach, I have a sneaking suspicion that a great many Americans would welcome them with open arms.
In around 1962>64 the Navy had training white/black relations.
I personally feel as though it made things worse.
Be sure and slog through the two hour Mike Lindell election interference “proof” video – fast forward to 1.5 hour mark to get to the real meat – his “proof” of China interference from election machine data printouts. Hope others with more technical expertise will comment on this presentation.
Much of the presentation as information anyone tracking the case already has made, which has gone no where for whatever reasons. However, even with billions of dollars of lawsuit damage claims staring Lindell in the face, he …persists …. with what he calls absolute proof of the data fingerprints that China and other foreign actors did intervene and all in favor of only one candidate.
Where does this go next? Where did finally Benghazi go – into the scrap heap of sustained political obfuscation. A footnote, but not a game changer. I await others because I feel too beaten up by all of this to either be swayed or be discouraged.
I do recall some election curiosity happening in San Diego, a traditionally conservative voting area had somehow switched to a Democrat victory in some critical race.
And lo and behold the one graphic showing the only place where alleged Chinese and other foreign actors had intruded California, as compared to far more numerous hits in swing states, was the San Diego area. I’ll have to track down what I thought had gone squirrel California, as this Lindell chart may explain why.
AK, I’m not worried about the Chinese so much as the European Commies. Klaus Schwab & company. Those fools think they can snap their fingers and restart the world economy in utopia mode. They’re going to wind up like the Duke Brothers in the Eddie Murphy movie Trading Places “turn those machines back on”!
The Chinese will certainly take whatever they can get, but their goal is a restored Middle Kingdom surrounded by friendlies or at least non-hostiles. We’re on the other side of the planet. Once we can no longer cause them grief they’ll be done with us.
Xi & Putin made very blunt speeches at Davos about a week ago. Both are worth listening to. If you know who Crooke, Escobar, Blumenthal and Marandi are, they just released a 2 hour Post-American World round table video too. Surprised it’s still on Youtube…
I’m hoping all this does is engender some command emphasis in a problem that has plagued our military for decades. This article from last March lays it out pretty well. The military has dealt with it under UCMJ and will continue to do so. The article lays out a timeline of events since 9/11.
https://thewarhorse.org/the-invisible-reach-of-white-supremacy/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwOOuzqTT7gIVyZyzCh0ZfQAfEAAYAiAAEgK9jPD_BwE
This is the type of person the military is concerned about. Not the Trump loving MAGA hat wearer or the southern boys enamored with the exploits of Lee’s Confederates.
“As a private in the Florida National Guard, Brandon Russell led a double life, carrying out exercises with his infantry team while heading a violent neo-Nazi group and reportedly recruiting like-minded troops until 2017. At his condo in Tampa, he had a flag with the Nazi swastika on the wall, a framed photo of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh – himself a military veteran – and a cache of bomb making material in the garage.”
I’m sure the brass will also be looking for any soldier, sailor, airman or marine who is openly heartbroken that the 6 Jan violent coup attempt didn’t result in the installation of Trump at the eternal god-emperor of the country. Although, even if they succeeded in capturing/killing the entire legislative branch, I don’t see how that would have ended up keeping Trump in office. The whole effort wasn’t thought through.
Ak’s comment is from the heart…..
Unfortunately he drank Trump’s kool-aid….
The reason for this purge is knowledge among the Democrats- Biden/Harris coalition that the 2020 election was stolen… and 74 million citizens know it.
A very large number of the US armed forces know it….
Their knowledge… views are those to be purged….
This means purging 60% of the force / electorate…
This sort of thing is endemic to elderly and the timid…
INDY
Anyone who still wonders if 2020 election was not “all about the unions”? https://dailycaller.com/2021/02/05/business-worker-trades-groups-reintroduction-union-pro-act/
Keep in mind among Biden’s very first EO’s on Day One was to fire the current NLRB lead counsel before his lawful term was over, and put in his own pro-union crony in his place ….. on Day One.
When the ink was not even dry on his Inauguration address. It was pay to play time, baby and Biden hopped to it ASAP. Biden-Harris – the all unions all the time administration. And they dare tell us they had to do this to “save democracy”.
TTG
You should keep hoping, but as you know hope is not a plan. As I may have written here, I briefed Austin once at Bragg before he went to the ME. Dumb as a post and unwilling to listen to anything not administration policy. A true product of EEO policy.
TTG
“Not the Trump loving MAGA hat wearer or the southern boys enamored with the exploits of Lee’s Confederates.” OK. Put me down as a sentimental “lost cause” idiot. Are comments like these a family project?
TTG
I don’t think there is much to worry about re the “violent coup attempt” – evil white nationalists are clearly too stupid to pose a danger. As you observe yourself, they went after the wrong branch of government. Oddly enough exactly the same mistake the perpetrators of the Reichstag fire made. Worst coup ever, sad.
That article is a transparent piece of alarmist nonsense. This guy Hasson sounds like a common or garden nut. The prosecutors somewhat undermine their case by alleging he dreamed of a way “to kill almost every last person on earth”. That ain’t “white supremacy” that’s vanilla crazy. In fact it’s intersectionality-approved fully inclusive crazy.
The poll question was whether active service troops have witnessed “white nationalism or ideological-driven racism.. ..in recent months”. If you read the linked article you’ll find that the survey was a poll of a sample of 1,630 Military Times subscribers. I can’t even begin to describe what is wrong with that methodology. The poll has obviously been designed for the express purpose of giving the Military Times a sensationalist headline to sell copy – tabloid own-bathwater-drinking journalism at its best.
I am not a Military Times subscriber, but I have noticed before that its editorial does seem to have been severely infected by wokeism (I guess that makes me a white supremacist). “Poll participants reported witnessing incidents including racist language and discriminatory attitudes from peers”. Well I’ll be darned, the snowflake poll respondents were offended by use of terms like “rag head” perhaps. I note that the emphasis is, as usual, on the feelings of observers, not on any sort of victimization or real racism.
The Military Times article is even more illuminating, it says the observed behavior was “despite efforts from military leaders to promote diversity and respect for all races”. In doesn’t occur to the authors I suppose, that that affirmative action policies might actually have caused a backlash.
Hypothetical question; how far would vetting for thoughtcrime in the military need to go before you considered it too far? I ask because whatever your answer I expect us to be there pretty soon.
Barbara Ann,
We may be of a like mind on the real scope of this problem. It’s not that big a deal. Other than those alarmist Military Times surveys, there’s this quote:
“The only data available comes from a letter dated Aug. 24, 2018, from the Pentagon addressed to then-Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. According to the letter, obtained by Marine Corps Times, there have been 27 reports of extremist activity by service members over the past five years, and 18 of those service members were “ultimately disciplined and/or separated” from the military. Ellison requested the data from the Pentagon on U.S. service member participation in extremist groups following reports of Pistolis’ membership with Atomwaffen.”
Twenty-seven reports of extremist activity over five years is not a major problem. This clown Pistolis was a sad sack who dabbled in Antifa before turning to Atomwaffen and the Charlottesville rally. He was demoted, fined and booted from the Corps. For the most part, we’re a nation of rival howler monkey bands hooting, hollering and flinging poop at each other. We’re not on the verge of another civil war. In the words of Douglas Adams, we are mostly harmless.
Well, if the Pentagonal powers-that-be are gonna get rid of extremists, they should do so from both ends of the political spectrum. If they don’t, if they get rid of right-wing extremists without also getting rid of left-wing extremists, then all political power will be left exclusively in the hands of the Left. Which I suspect is their goal.
Actually, that’s the Left’s goal. The Left is just using the Pentagon is achieve this goal. More specifically, the Left’s goal is to have a single party government with a leftist agenda. But since the so-called “Left” doesn’t have a real leftist agenda, it’s better to describe the Left as fake leftists with a fake leftist agenda.
Granted, the real Left might also be angling for a single party government. But that’s beside the point, given that the Right, real or otherwise, could also be angling for this as well.
At any rate, what the real and fake Left do share is common is that they’re both built on Marxist thought. Unlike real leftists, though, fake leftists have put a postmodern spin on Marxism. In other words, both real and fake leftists are Marxists, but real leftist have maintained some degree of rational and objective thought, which is the antithesis of postmodern thought, BTW. And since identity politics emerged from postmodern thought, this explains why identify politics is anything but rational and objective, at least when it’s based on race. Which is the case when it comes to fake leftist politics.
Now if identity politics were based on class, instead of on race, as would be the case if real leftists had most of the power in DC and in society at large, the power structure would be disrupted in such a way as to allow those who are NOT at the top to benefit from it as well. By contrast, fake leftists wants to keep the existing power structure intact but replace some who are at the top with so-called “people of color.”
Which is why if a conflict were to occur within the Pentagon, it’ll be a race-based conflict. Actually, such a conflict between the races would also occur in all areas of society as well — from schools and neighborhoods to places of work and leisure. Thinking more broadly about this, if a war were to breakout in the country at large, it’ll be a all-out race war, no doubt. At that point, the blame for the entire destruction of America can be squarely pinned on the fake Left!
TTG
Not much of a problem? That is true if the purge is not carried out in a malevolent way.
Colonel, TTG
Yes, I agree. The cure has the potential to be so much worse than the disease.
TTG — and others: Why is possession of a swastika, or Hugo Boss military dress, or raising a stiff-arm salute, so threatening to Americans?
Why is it that whenever zionists seek to claim still more power over the lives and tax dollars of Americans, media becomes saturated with the specter of a long-dead leader who lost a war and whose country was thoroughly destroyed in the bargain (while Israel came into existence and benefited from the inflows of money, talent and political influence)?
The swastika is, after all, a form of the Christian cross and also a sacred symbol among Hindus.
Zionist propagandists (James Waterman Wise, son of Rabbi Stephen Wise, whose other contributions included tales of “Jewish soap and lampshades”) wrote the book vilifying the swastika in May, 1933, in an opening bid of their project to vilify Germany so to involve USA in a war in Europe that most Americans wanted no part of.
If the swastika can be branded as a taboo, as it has; and the Confederate flag can be rendered taboo, as it has; and statues of Columbus defiled, as has happened; then how much longer until the Stars and Stripes are replaced by the rainbow flag, or the flag of Israel, as occurs annually at AIPAC meetings?
Where do we draw the line?
Just like many drivers in a swerve tend to over-correct, it does not seem plausible that a point of moderation and equanimity can be reached without first veering into the opposite extreme.
Isn’t it really ADL and allied groups that are driving these “purges,” based upon ADL and militant zionist psychopathology? Isn’t it ADL & associates that introduce and spearhead “hate” memes and campaigns?
Hadn’t we better identify and draw boundaries around such groups in order to protect our own nation, its symbols and values?
It seems to me reasonable, even essential, to isolate and disband organizations such as ADL.