Editorial Board
USA Today
March 30, 2021
Our view: About 1 in 3 service members has seen evidence of white supremacist, racist ideology in their ranks. Selection should include screening for extremism.
When a closet extremist named Brandon Russell joined the Florida Army National Guard in 2016, examiners took note of an odd tattoo on his right shoulder.
It looked like a radiation-warning symbol, but apparently didn’t raise concerns. It should have. It was the emblem for a violent neo-Nazi organization Russell had founded. “I was 100% open about everything with the friends I made at training,” Russell later boasted online about the acceptance of his views among other troops. “They know all about it. They love me too cause I’m a funny guy.”
Extremism in the military is hardly a laughing matter, and evidence is mounting that it’s long past time for the Pentagon to take it seriously.
Continued
Carl Sagan
Article URL : https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/todaysdebate/2021/03/30/our-view-military-must-do-more-weed-out-extremists/4703588001/