Since the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, authorities have been on high alert for domestic extremism groups. In fact, a new Pentagon report reveals how these domestic extremism groups pose a "serious threat" to the U.S. military, forcing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of the Biden administration to call for a stand down.
Calling it a "major readiness issue," Sec. Austin said that no matter how small the number of extremists and white supremacists there are in the military, they can still have a "big impact," CBN News reported.
The Biden administration and Sec. Austin is concerned that these domestic terrorist groups are either "actively [recruiting] military members" or "joining the military themselves to gain combat experience." Sec. Austin called upon all the men and women who wear the uniform of a soldier, no matter what department in the U.S. military, to re-internalize the oath they took and report any incidents of extremism within the military.
He also called upon all commanders and supervisors to take the time for a "stand down" that will allow them to actively discuss extremism in all ranks.
ABC News reported that according to Sec. Austin, "99.9% of our troops embrace those values and are focused on the right things and are doing the right things each and every day." He added that military leaders are already actively holding "really in-depth conversations with their troops on values, on the oath that we took, on the importance of unit cohesion."
This new directive from the Defense Secretary of the Biden administration has earned criticism from retired U.S. Marines Corps Lt. Colonel Oliver North who believes that the move to fight extremism in the military is a "witch hunt."
The retired marine raised, in an interview with CBN News, concerns about the Biden administration's policies on U.S. military, which recently went through some controversial changes after President Biden reversed former President Trump's orders regarding transgender volunteers.
Lt. Col. North said that issues of loyalty have long been in the military, as during World War II, volunteers were often asked if they aligned themselves with the communist party or even the Nazis.
He also shared that the Biden administration's new policies are concerning because the military's expression of "I've got your back" is not just "some kind of sentiment," but an actual "pledge" of loyalty. He shared that while it's important to ensure there is loyalty in the ranks, it's also concerning that the Biden administration's new policies on the U.S. military, especially in the current culture, seems like a "witch hunt" that is about "policing a soldier's thoughts, ideas, values, and beliefs."
North emphasized that this "witch hunt" against what the Biden administration calls "extremism" could be targeted against those who might say or do something against transgender soldiers in the military - even if their assertions or convictions are logical and true.
"My question is, if those of us who believe in, for example, traditional marriage, or don't want to be serving with people who are gonna make you less ready, like for example, someone who's had a sex change operation can't be deployable. Are you still allowed to say things like that in our military? Or is that the kind of thing we're now gonna keep banned as part of this witch hunt? That's my concern."
The retired Marine also indicated that while Defense secretary Austin's words might "sound like the right kind of thing, the problem is when you start going after someone's politics, or for example, their moral behavior."
He explained that transgender personnel can't be deployed overseas and can't go into combat. The Biden administration's policy on transgenders in the armed forces, however, will be mandatory - despite the transgender soldier's non-deployable status as a result of a sex change.
"So if you stand up and say that, or a chaplain says something about the way people behave in marriage out of the Bible, is that gonna be banned? Is that the kind of thing that's gonna be deemed to be disloyal?" he raised.
