Pentagon Warns Threat from White Supremacy Within the Military Ranks

A pentagon report underscores disturbing examples of white supremacy inside the military ranks, which calls for changes in how the Defense Department screens a recruit for possible ties to domestic terrorism.

The report was sent to Congress last October, but it has not been made public until now. The said report was drafted last year before the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, which claimed the lives of five people, including a Capitol police officer.

It describes one case in which a Florida National Guards member, who was part of a neo-Nazi group, was bragging his ideology to his collegues, according to an NBC News report.

He was then asked if he was worried at all about being found by his mates or someone, now that he is in the U.S. military.

"I was 100% open about everything with the friends I made at training. They know about it all. They love me too cause I'm a funny guy," the guard membersman was reported to have answered the question.

The exchange was done in an extremist "Iron March" online forum in 2016. This is part of a database that the news site Ars Technica published in 2019.

There was a screenshot from the chat that appears in the Pentagon's report to the Congress, which examines efforts to prevent white supremacists from joining the military ranks.

The report warns that even a small number of extremists poses a threat to national security and the cohesion of the armed forces, noting murders, foiled terrorist plots, and other incidents connected to white supremacists in the ranks over the past decade.

Ties to the Military

Authorities estimated that 1 in 5 of those who have been charged criminally were either currently serving in the military or had once worn the uniform, according to a Military Times report.

Domestic extremists have flaunted ties to the U.S. military, seeking to claim the status, credibility, and effective tactical training that military service entails.

Top leaders in the military have committed to going after domestic extremists when discovered in the ranks, including militia groups, white supremacists, and those who advocate violence against the government.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon cannot say how many members in uniform may have ties to extremist ideologies that are both threat to the military and the whole nation as well.

The report also said that access to service members can increase success of the planned attacks, especially with those who have combat training and weapons expertise.

Meanwhile, military leaders noted that the effort to address the problem aggressively challenges the Constitution as it protects freedom of speech, as well as the law's prohibition to criminalize affiliations that may be identified as political in nature rather than a threat of harm the public.

Tougher enforcement is now under consideration at the highest levels of government, which includes a better review of incoming recruits, monitoring of social media for those in sensitive positions among others.