Pentagon Could Punish Service Members for ‘Liking’ Supposed ‘Extremist’ Social Media Posts Under New Policy
“When questioned by the House Armed Services Committee in June, Secretary Austin could not define ‘extremism’”
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Military is undergoing a ‘woke’ transformation into a force for social justice in the world.
It’s a cause for concern that is already having some disturbing real-world consequences.
In some ways, the military is adapting the ideology of a liberal college campus and there have been warnings of ‘woke’ priorities for months.
Now the DOD is issuing new guidelines on ‘extremism’ in the ranks which seem deliberately vague. For instance, a service member could face punishment for “liking” a social media post from a supposed “extremist” group.
Caitlin McFall reports at FOX News:
DOD moves to counter ‘extremism’ in ranks, top Republican warns against ‘virtue signaling’
In a move to counter extremism in the ranks, the Department of Defense issued new guidelines Monday on what it will not tolerate from service members, but some in the GOP are concerned.
Membership in extremist groups is not prohibited by the DOD, but any form of “active participation” in such groups is explicitly prohibited.
But Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., the ranking member on the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, argued that the newly updated guidelines have “only muddled the issue more.”
“When questioned by the House Armed Services Committee in June, Secretary Austin could not define ‘extremism’,” Gallagher said in a statement Monday night. “These rules are ill-defined, could easily be abused, and will have the practical effect of further politicizing the force at a time when polls indicate confidence in the military is plummeting at an unprecedented rate.”
While the department did not explicitly define extremism, it did outline which “extremist activities” would not be permitted.
Does anyone believe that a service member would be punished for expressing support for Black Lives Matter or Antifa, or does it seem more likely that this is about rooting out support for Trump and anything conservative?
Stars and Stripes offer some possible confirmation:
Service members who overtly support extremist groups or ideas, attempt to recruit others into such ideology, or train, organize or demonstrate in support of an extremist view are to face punishment under new guidance published by the Pentagon on Monday.
The guidance leaves entirely to commanders decisions about punishments for those found to be “actively participating” in extremist activity. Commanders may charge violators criminally, dole out a lesser administrative punishment or simply counsel them on what they did wrong, the guidance states.
Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin instructed the Pentagon to better define extremism, as the Pentagon worked to understand how rampant such ideologies were in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by some supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Those involved included some members of the armed forces and dozens of veterans.
Conservative talk host Jesse Kelly, a former Marine, has been warning for months that this is putting America in serious danger. He recently appeared on the Tucker Carlson show to discuss the addition of ‘gender advisers’ in the military. Watch:
Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC SLAMS wokeness in the military. pic.twitter.com/mOXMSp0Ozc
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 18, 2021
The left has politicized every aspect of life in America. The military is one place that should be off-limits for this nonsense. Our lives depend on it.
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Comments
Thoughtcrime — pure and simple.
When they reached into the box of stupid useful idiot, they pulled out Lloyd Austin.
What a malignant moron.
And the socialist, oops, social media would rat you out in a New York minute.
Considering this is the government we are talking about, this is about as textbook a first amendment violation as you can get.
It started going downhill with the tailhook fake scandal.
Thank the femi-Nazis.
And Patsy Schroeder. To be fair, the Tailhookers were told before the festivities that they shouldn’t do a drunken brawl that time around as people were watching. They chose to do the drunken brawl anyway, giving the Patsy Schroeder’s of the world their excuse. Cheers –
How can this possibly be constitutional? The first amendment guarantees me the right to hold extremist views. And the constitution also PROHIBITS the govt, including the military, from infringing on my right in anyway. But if the military punished me for exercising my first amendment right, that is unconstitutional. What am I missing? I really hope someone can help me out. I just can’t understand it.
And why are the Republicans up in arms about this blatantly unconstitutional policy? I must be missing something. But for the life of me, I have no idea what.
Time for a purge. Any general officer appointed by Obama/Biden should be immediately gone. Any department in the military not directly involved in killing people and breaking things or giving direct support for those activities should be dumped.
It’s the opposite: the purge began under First Dummy Obama, when the middle officer corps was cashiered, along with nearly 200 generals:
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/197-military-officers-purged-by-obama/
The GOP reaction? (WHAT reaction?)
Our military is being trained to point their guns at you and I, not any foreign actors.
The only purge that will help us now is a purge of the GOP.
When are we going to enforce the law already on the book for the generals that attempted a COUP?
Purge the GOP, boot Kevin McCarthy to the curb (where he belongs) and elected the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene as Speaker: you’ll see justice.
If Kevin McCarthy becomes GOP Speaker, he’ll be Boehner II, with even more b.s.
Truth be told, as a military member under 10 USC and subject to the UCMJ, you give up a lot of normal constitutional protections. They don’t really tell you that when you sign on the dotted line, but that’s the way it is. Different rules apply. That having been said, I think this goes way too far and cannot be justified under the “good order and discipline” sections.
good order and discipline?–have not looked at the ucmj in a long time- any soldier in our armed forces is still an american citizen and though subject to military discipline via ucmj, they retain all rights guaranteed by the constitution–this would never fly with ordinary citizens as is blatantly a violation of the 1A- would think that would require an order from sec def or higher and the same would clearly be an “unlawful order” vs their(and their superior’s)oath alone
Wait for it…. “Extremist” deliberately left vague. This will allow SecDef to create his own interpretation and let it filter down.
They are already booting troops for not get vaxed, so what comes next should be no surprise.
Eventually they will add Morale Officers who will spend their days monitoring troops, with names provided by their commanders.
“MORALE OFFICERS”
Just like the political officers in the USSR.
I swear – the USA moves closer to the USSR every day.
> In a year or two – Americans may have to start defecting to Russia
You do realize we already have MO in each unit.
They are supposed to work with commanders regarding lifting unit morale (esprit decorous). Wouldn’t be hard to add “Monitoring” to their responsibilities
Now I’m wondering about Mandatory Service Obligation – this is where someone signs up for a three year enlistment… they ETS out, but still have 5 years of IRR to
Meet the full 8yr MSO.
Seem to recall being told I was still subject to USMCJ during IRR.
This could end up going further than most think.
Wouldn’t surprise me if a troop hits ETS, then joins an extremist group, thinking he is free to do so, then getting in trouble for actions he takes as a civilian.
Think that’s crazy man thoughts? Look at the ones at the top and tell me they aren’t the kind to pull something like that. Know Austin would, wouldn’t be surprised if Miley did as well.
These guidelines should be challenged as to their constitutionality
They are looking ahead for Trump 2024, Hildabeast warning of the end of democracy is just a Leftist theme starting. They are going to fight to keep anyone else taking over after their coup d’etat
You’re damned right.
But we have Rona Romney as our party chairwoman!
Sexist!
;-{)}}}
BLM caused more damage to private businesses that private business has ever suffered outside of natural disasters. That’s not my opinion. That’s the opinion of the insurers that had to pay the claims. If BLM isn’t an ‘extremist’ organization, then what is? Are we going to cashier every service member who posted favorable comments about BLM on their social media?
.
Under Austin’s leadership: no.
So, the way this is going, by 2024 you could be dishonorable sischarged, or if already out, lose your VA benefits and military retirement pay if you are registered to vote as anything but a Democrat.
Apologies for the misspellings. I’m fighting with my “Mobile device” today.
This idea is as malignant as Lloyd Austin is dumb, as Pete Butthead is useless, as Kamala Harris is disgusting, as Joe Biden is dishonest, as Alexandra Cortez is cretinous and as Barack Obama is a contrivance.
American history circa 2000: when the dumbest people in the nation led the smartest people off a cliff.
This is one of the reasons the Founders were suspicious of standing armies. Now that they are being indoctrinated, this can only end badly.
Everyone by high school knows about Stalin’s purge and how catastrophic that was for Russia.
Clearly by their actions the Pentagon doesn’t think we live in a situation where war is possible so why are we paying each year more than what we did in any previously war on armaments? To quote allied WW2 propaganda think of the good things we could buy instead.
Do you think it will be harder or easier to kick people out for liking Tea Party-like organizations than it was to kick out this guy?
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/06/13/whatever-happened-to-that-communist-lieutenant-the-army-wont-say/
OTOH, it is good practice NEVER to like anything on FB, as you populate their servers with your data. One alternative would be to like everything the Powers That Be deem good these days, GIGO with the Pentagon’s data-gathering exercise. But you end up with the same problem, populating FB with your data. And FB WILL use that data. Wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t a daily report made to the Pentagon’s Extremism office by FB and other social media platforms. Remember, it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you. Cheers –
This statement/question captures the essence of what I believe today’s military is trying to achieve – a military consisting entirely of leftists.
“Does anyone believe that a service member would be punished for expressing support for Black Lives Matter or Antifa, or does it seem more likely that this is about rooting out support for Trump and anything conservative?”