A defense official told The Hill that of the 143 notifications of investigation the Pentagon received from the FBI last year of former and current military members, 68 concerned domestic extremism cases. The official stressed that the vast majority were former military, many with unfavorable discharge records.
Still, roughly one-third of active-duty service members said they had “personally witnessed examples of white nationalism or ideological-driven racism within the ranks in recent months,” according to a 2019 poll conducted by the Military Times and the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families.
“We know that some groups actively attempt to recruit our personnel into their cause, or actually encourage their members to join the military for purpose of acquiring skills and experience,” a senior Defense official told reporters earlier this month.
To address the issue, the Pentagon is now conducting a review of its policies on extremist activity in the services.
The Defense Department’s inspector general also plans to look into whether the agency has adequate procedures in place to prevent those with extreme views from entering and staying in the military, as ordered in the fiscal 2021 NDAA that became law before former President Trump left office.
But lawmakers don’t plan to wait for the results of those two reviews before taking action.
“We must better vet recruits for extremist ideologies, tackle the issues of white supremacy and domestic terror in an organized and bipartisan process and focus on ensuring our military academies are training the next generation of leaders that look like America,” said Brown, a top member of the House Armed Services Committee and member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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