US army investigates after young private follows the Base, which has vowed to recruit soldiers for so-called race war
An active-duty serviceman in the US army is openly following a proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group on social media, one that has vowed to recruit soldiers in preparation for a so-called race war.
Experts say examples like this shows how under Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon is allowing extremism to go unchecked.
On the surface, following a TikTok account might seem like a minor infraction for a young private in the 1st Infantry Division. But not only has that private followed the Base, a violent neo-Nazi terrorist organization once the target of an FBI investigation, there are directives issued under Joe Biden that discourages that kind of social media activity.
But in February, the DoD issued a memo halting a major counter-extremism initiative rooting out white nationalists and far-right influences among servicemen, citing that it was not in line with Donald Trump’s executive orders. Since, the efficacy of rooting out the far right within the ranks remains unclear.
I mean, this isn’t good obviously, but it also doesn’t feel like news.
The US military employs almost 3million people. I challenge you to grab a broad swath of 3 million people and not have a few neo-nazis in the bunch.
Which isn’t to say that it’s okay or should be tolerated. Just that, like, it isn’t news. Or, at least, not any more news than “Nazi sypathizer exists on earth” is news.
It’s more, “hey this is not being allowed to happen without repercussion”
I mean, the Army is on the record in the article as saying that the behavior would not be tolerated and that they are investigating. He’ll probably get UCMJ’d. I think “without repercussion” is strong.
Should there be more protections to detect this stuff early? Maybe. But, like, that doesn’t feel like as flashy a headline I guess.
And idk, should the Armed Forces have people actively monitoring all their personnel’s private lives 24/7? Seems a little much to me.
I’m just having trouble figuring out what the takeaway is. What “repercussions” do you want to see here? He gets punished in some way? Cause odds are good he will, if they can figure out who it is (since the Guardian didn’t share the name with the Army, per the article.) So what’s the story?
But in February, the DoD issued a memo halting a major counter-extremism initiative rooting out white nationalists and far-right influences among servicemen, citing that it was not in line with Donald Trump’s executive orders. Since, the efficacy of rooting out the far right within the ranks remains unclear.
The story is these measures to start having an effect with extremism becoming more visibly prevalent.
Yep, and if you monitored people’s personal lives constantly minority groups like LGBT would be far less likely to join.
I’m shocked
Well, not that shocked.
So, fun fact: “The Base” is actually a direct English translation of “Al Qaeda”
I dunno about in the military, but I have a cousin that’s a veteran of the Iraq war and he’s a pretty staunch leftist. Claims his service opened his eyes.
I’m guessing that the military as a whole has the same political leanings as the general population, with the majority being left leaning centrists and they will stand by the oath they took never to attack the American people.
Fingers fucking crossed.
If the majority of America was in fact left leaning we would have different candidates in federal elections.
No, we would only have different candidates in federal elections if left leaning people actually voted. They don’t.
the actual left leaning people of this country are reliable voters and the vote counts prove it since their numbers are as consistent as republican voters.
what you’re likely counting as “left leaning” are centrists by the world’s standards (aka democrats) and, by definition, don’t have strong enough feelings to vote either way; hence the political fervor that’s so weak that they don’t even show up at the polls.
the actual left leaning people of this country are reliable voters
Except when withholding votes in protest.
God I fucking hope you’re right. If both the military and police become fascist (even if in all but name), it won’t just be the USA that is completely fucked.
You have more hope than me.
The US military fucking people completely without any reason or legitimization and in blatant violation to international law is a tradition that the US military upholds since long before Trump though.
I saw a youtube video from a woman that had a similar experience yesterday. Came from a deeply red, rural community, and went not to war but to a military base in okinawa. She talked about how many of the US military structures are actually quite socialized (everyone at the same rank gets the same salary, free healthcare, etc.) and also about how eye opening it was to get a different perspective on the pacific war than just the narrative of the US.
I can definitely see how just leaving the country for a place with a radically different culture alone could push you towards more leftist views (though afaik in military bases you still have to actively seek out interaction with anything outside the base), to say nothing of experiencing the horrors of war first-hand.
She talked about how many of the US military structures are actually quite socialized (everyone at the same rank gets the same salary, free healthcare, etc.)
I love how we’re told socialism is awful and bad for the public, and yet for the military it’s a perk for serving your country. “Of course they deserve housing and healthcare and education, they’re risking their lives for our freedom!” So are you rewarding them or punishing them?
Just one more layer of hypocrisy.
Pete Hegseth?
