The Defense Department is talking with federal law enforcement agencies as they develop databases on domestic extremists groups, said the senior enlisted adviser to the Joint Chiefs chairman.
As the military stands down to self-examine in the wake of an insurgency that threatened democracy, the Defense Department must do more than punish criminal behavior, says the author of this commentary.
Austin, who broke racial barriers throughout his four decades in the Army, said military leaders must set the right example to discourage and eliminate extremist behavior.
The acting defense secretary ordered the implementation of 15 broad recommendations that include a plan to crack down on participation in hate groups by service members and draft proposed changes to the UCMJ.
Discussions on how the U.S. Space Force needs to separate itself from Air Force culture is important for its future and should not be ignored, says the author of this commentary.
Some critics worry steps taken in public, such as the military’s first all-female space operations crew, only serve to obscure larger systemic problems the Space Force has inherited from the branch of the military it grew out of, the U.S. Air Force.