H/T/ Jim
So the big question becomes, who's doing the beholding in the military? Because the Pentagon is looking to come up with new regulations to prosecute "extremism" in the military. What extremism are they beholding?
The Pentagon wants a new ‘reg’ for prosecuting extremism
Any country that has a large professional military and a huge intelligence and government legal establishment that cooperates in an Interagency community need to take great care to prevent those institutions from taking on lives of their own to further interests of their own--which may run counter to the interests of the society and culture within which they exist. Movements within the ruling establishment that seek to transform the surrounding culture and political structures as embodied in founding documents in ways that are resisted by major portions of the populace become extremely concerning when they are joined by organized groupings within the military. To such an extent, "extremism" so defined is a very real concern.
But, again, the question is: who's beholding "extremism"? What extremist grouping is seeking to enlist the military to the cause of transformation or, alternatively, what extremist grouping is seeking to neuter the military to prevent it from resisting transformation?
With that background consideration, the Military Times reports:
The Defense Department has been rolling out initiatives to address the threat of domestic extremism serving in uniform since early this year, and now its next budget request hopes to throw some money behind them.
The proposal released Friday includes $30.8 million to enhance technology and manpower for training, screening and policy updates, including a big one: “the development of a punitive regulation on extremist activities.”
...
While commands can currently charge service members for espousing extremist views, or participating in extremist plots, through misconduct regulations in both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and a current DoD instruction covering extremist activities, this year’s renewed discussion about extremism has included calls for new, concrete guidelines and tools for commanders to hold troops accountable. Those millions in funding will also go to improving “vetting protocols and screening of public available electronic information (aka social media) and develop and deploy an Enterprise Case Management tracking tool for tracking activities of concern.”
A Pentagon spokesman recently refuted a report that the department was pursuing a contract with a private firm to troll social media for questionable service member activity on a mass scale, clarifying that social media is already part of existing screening and background check protocols.
Another $9.1 million will go to combating extremism and insider threats, according to budget documents, in the spirit of the findings of a report done after an attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, by a Saudi Arabian pilot trainee. That will include “enhanced federal capabilities in reporting; tracking extremism activities; and improved DoD accession processes.”
Many of these initiatives fall under an extremism working group that first met in April. So far, the group has been tasks with facilitating a study to take a look at the prevalence of extreme ideologies in the services, as well as to develop an official department definition of extremism, and to update training for transitioning troops, who are often targeted by domestic extremist groups.
It seems worth noting that this concern for "extremism" in the ranks is being driven by the same societal groupings that have propagated such conspiracy theories as that the January 6 Event constituted an armed White Supremacist insurrection--contrary to videotaped evidence--or that concerns for the integrity of elections is also part of a White Supremacist plot.
My own view remains that the current anti-extremist crusade will have an extremely detrimental effect on discipline within the military and, therefore, on morale, training, and preparedness. In particular, the military will likely result in extreme difficulty in re-enlisting qualified and high value personnel. My reasoning is based on the view that those demographics most inclined to pursue a professional military career will be least inclined to tolerate living within the anti-extremist narrative we are being subjected to currently. Conversely, those demographics most inclined to accept that narrative will be least inclined to pursue a professional military career.
Trouble ahead. It's time that the GOP and conservatives generally took note, before the military--with its politicized leadership--faces a major crisis.
