(CNN) – A Pentagon report on extremism obtained by CNN offers a troubling perspective on how white supremacists operate in the U.S. military, and offers recommendations to better identify and prevent domestic extremists from serving.
Describes an example of a former National Guard member who is a member of a dangerous neo-Nazi group who brags about openly discussing extremist views while on duty, and separately describes service members who describe how they recognize their fellow white supremacists for his fascist tattoos and t-shirt logos.
Although the report, commissioned by Congress and dated October 2020, found that extremist views were not widespread and identified “a low number of cases in absolute terms,” it underscores the urgency of the problem because “people with extremist preferences and military experience. are a national security issue of the United States because of their proven ability to conduct high impact events.
Roll Call was the first to report on the Pentagon’s findings.
President Joe Biden’s new Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has made fighting extremism a top priority following the violent uprising on Capitol Hill in January.
Earlier this month, he ordered an interruption of all forces within 60 days, so that commanders can have “necessary discussions” with military personnel on the issue of extremism.
The urgency of the problem was underscored by a CNN analysis that found at least 27 current or former members of the US military are facing federal charges in connection with the riot.
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“Top management has never acknowledged that this needs to be addressed, so the fact that we have it now and that an effort is being made to do something is actually quite encouraging,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project. Against hatred and extremism. “How well it has now been done and executed and all the parts are in place, that’s another question we’ll have to wait and see for the results.”
The report offers recommendations on how the Pentagon can use other government resources, such as FBI units, to identify signs that recruits may be associated with extremist groups during the selection and recruitment process. It also highlights some of the reasons these groups target members of the military and how they do it.
The current or former military is the primary target of extremist groups, as members with military service give the groups legitimacy and bring “combat and tactical experience” to carry out their attacks, the report said.
“Access to military personnel with combat training and technical weapons experience can also increase both the likelihood of success and the potential for planned violent attacks,” he added.
While members of the military are prohibited from “participating in or defending against supremacy and other extremist ideologies,” there is currently no official military rule or regulation requiring the departure of servicemen identified as national extremists or white supremacists. The armed forces, except in the navy. The report’s authors believe that one should be added for all branches of military service.
“I’d say the craziest things and get away with it”
The report includes troubling cases of service workers openly promoting their white supremacist beliefs.
In a screenshot of a conversation on the now-defunct neo-Nazi online forum Iron March (which translates to ‘Iron March’), the co-founder of a neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division that served in the Florida National Guard ”boasted about sharing of his white supremacist views while in the military, “the report states. Atomwaffen means “nuclear weapon” in German.
When someone on the chat forum asked the co-founder if he is worried about getting into trouble because of these beliefs, the co-founder replied, “I was 100% open about everything with the friends I made during the training. They know everything.
“I’d say the craziest shit and get away with it,” he says later in the conversation.
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According to the Anti-Defamation League, members of the Atomwaffen division have been linked to “violent crimes, including assassination attempts and alleged plots against civilians.” The group is said to be from the Iron March forum, where the talks took place, the report said.
These conversations are included in a section of the report that details national terrorist groups with military ties. All mentioned groups have white supremacy and white nationalist beliefs. The interviews show how members of these groups spoke to others in the armed forces about their beliefs and how they encountered similar beliefs in the armed forces.
In another conversation on the Iron March forum, a user asked if there are people in the military who “share similar ‘anti-white’ views,” the report said. A comment on the forum shows how some soldiers find others with similar beliefs.
“A good way for people in the military to find other rightists is to simply wear a shirt with some dark fascist logo on it,” replied one user. “I met my good friend at a brigade lunch when he saw the Totenkopf on my shirt.”
“You see a lot of ‘our kind’ in combat weapons,” said the user.
In the current military selection process, the applicant describes the meaning of their tattoos during the evaluation. The report recommends that the Department of Defense use the FBI’s National Center for Gang Intelligence to identify tattoos and symbols during the recruitment process.
“Domestic extremists, group members and unaffiliated members are using tattoos as a means of communicating that they are connected to and committed to the cause and belief,” the report said. “Interpreting the meaning and importance of tattoos takes a long time … However, this interpretation is essential.”
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Identify symbols and add questions
The report’s recommendations focus on how recruiters and researchers can identify members of national terror and extremist groups during the recruiting process to avoid joining the military.
By law, the military cannot control American citizens. The military filters and reviews applicants’ social media posts, but deeper and more penetrating investigations must be conducted by the FBI or other civilian law enforcement agencies.
The focus of the report is how to screen people with this extremist behavior before joining, but it does not address how to address the problem among current members.
A major challenge is identifying white supremacist tattoos and symbols on clothing. They range from ordinary to obscure – swastikas, numbers, phrases and crosses can represent different ideas and aspects of a supremacist ideology.
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While the military works with the FBI’s Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit and the National Center for Gang Intelligence when recruiters have difficulty identifying tattoos and symbols, the report recommends relying more on those offices and providing more training on these subjects. For recruiters and researchers, as well as adding questions to the standard security background check to better identify people with extremist beliefs.
Rep. Peter Aguilar, a California Democrat who advocated that the Pentagon draft the report to be added to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, introduced legislation last week to enact the report’s recommendations.
“Just because this defense secretary wants to tackle it and stick with it doesn’t mean the next one will or the next government will, which is why I think it’s important to codify and make this clear Aguilar told CNN. .
He was surprised by some of the report’s contents.
It just makes you think, my God, it doesn’t take much, it doesn’t take much. But they get this training, they recruit, they train other people, they identify people who are sympathetic to their cause. And as we’ve learned from mass firearms incidents, unfortunately it doesn’t take many people to create something that is horrible and affects a community, ”said Aguilar.