US military extremism problem: What can the government do to solve it?

CNN — Deep in the North Carolina woods, the men trained at night for what they called “seek out and destroy” missions. “We should be trying to avoid these types of people getting in in the first place.” ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy toward extremism Several years into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as the need for recruits rose, Pentagon researchers bluntly concluded that the military had a “‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy pertaining to extremism.” “If individuals can perform satisfactorily, without making their extremist opinions overt through words or actions that violate policy, reflect poorly on the Armed Forces, or disrupt the effectiveness and order of their units, they are likely to be able to complete their contracts,” according to a 2005 report by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center which was examining how to identify “terrorists” in the course of the recruitment process. “My fear was always you’re going to create a much more dangerous extremist when you give him urban warfare training,” Barfield said, “and they come back home and teach their local extremists.” National Guard soldier posts on neo-Nazi forum Some 14 years after Barfield’s warnings, a Defense Department report last year detailed the brazenness of White supremacists in the military. In 2012, the DOD made its latest addition to the policy – which remains in effect today – for the first time explicitly prohibiting service members from actively advocating “extremist” and “criminal gang doctrine.” The rule warns service members against “knowingly wearing gang colors or clothing; having tattoos or body markings associated with such gangs or organizations.” “What is frustrating about this change is that the Defense Department doesn’t tell you what they mean by ‘extremist’ anywhere in the regulation, so that’s left open to debate,” military law attorney James M. Branum told CNN. “It’s vague.” Whether those policy changes resulted in extremist service members being punished or discharged can’t be quantified because the Defense Department hasn’t kept records on that, Pentagon press secretary Kirby said.