Army stiffens rules barring extremists

Army stiffens rules barring extremist, gang activity among soldiers
By COREY DICKSTEIN
STARS AND STRIPES
• June 26, 2024

Soldiers cannot post, like or share any extremist or gang-affiliated content on social media or participate in other extremist activity even when they are off duty, according to new Army rules unveiled Wednesday. The new rules clarify soldiers — on active duty or in the Reserve or National Guard — cannot knowingly participate in or support any extremist activity in or out of uniform, according to two new memorandums that Army Secretary Christine Wormuth sent to the force Wednesday.

Those caught supporting extremist or gang activity — including wearing clothing, flying flags or sporting bumper stickers on their vehicles in support of extremist views — must be reported to their commanders, who are now required to report all such allegations to the Defense Department inspector general and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, according to the memos. “Active participation in extremist activities can be prohibited even in some circumstances in which such activities would be constitutionally protected in a civilian setting,” Wormuth wrote in one memo. “Enforcement of this policy is a responsibility of every command, is vitally important to unit cohesion and morale and is essential to the Army’s ability to accomplish its mission.”

The new rules released Wednesday bring the Army into compliance with a 2021 congressional mandate requiring the Defense Department and its services to standardize reporting processes to the inspector general so the watchdog could better gauge the military’s response to extremism within its ranks, said Bryce Dubee, an Army spokesman. In the inspector general’s 2022 report on extremist activity within the military’s ranks, the office reported 146 accusations of extremist activity among service members in 2021. Last year, the IG reported 183 allegations of extremist activity among U.S. troops in 2022.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2024-06-26/army-soldiers-extremism-gangs-14306596.html
Source - Stars and Stripes


Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2024-06-26/army-soldiers-extremism-gangs-14306596.html

Source - Stars and Stripes