US army investigates after young private follows the Base, which has vowed to recruit soldiers for so-called race war

US army investigates after young private follows the Base, which has vowed to recruit soldiers for so-called race war

An active-duty serviceman in the US army is openly following a proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group on social media, one that has vowed to recruit soldiers in preparation for a so-called race war.

Experts say examples like this shows how under Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon is allowing extremism to go unchecked.

On the surface, following a TikTok account might seem like a minor infraction for a young private in the 1st Infantry Division. But not only has that private followed the Base, a violent neo-Nazi terrorist organization once the target of an FBI investigation, there are directives issued under Joe Biden that discourages that kind of social media activity.

But in February, the DoD issued a memo halting a major counter-extremism initiative rooting out white nationalists and far-right influences among servicemen, citing that it was not in line with Donald Trump’s executive orders. Since, the efficacy of rooting out the far right within the ranks remains unclear.

  • testfactor@lemmy.world
    37·
    9 days ago

    I mean, this isn’t good obviously, but it also doesn’t feel like news.

    The US military employs almost 3million people. I challenge you to grab a broad swath of 3 million people and not have a few neo-nazis in the bunch.

    Which isn’t to say that it’s okay or should be tolerated. Just that, like, it isn’t news. Or, at least, not any more news than “Nazi sypathizer exists on earth” is news.

      • testfactor@lemmy.world
        8·
        9 days ago

        I mean, the Army is on the record in the article as saying that the behavior would not be tolerated and that they are investigating. He’ll probably get UCMJ’d. I think “without repercussion” is strong.

        Should there be more protections to detect this stuff early? Maybe. But, like, that doesn’t feel like as flashy a headline I guess.

        And idk, should the Armed Forces have people actively monitoring all their personnel’s private lives 24/7? Seems a little much to me.

        I’m just having trouble figuring out what the takeaway is. What “repercussions” do you want to see here? He gets punished in some way? Cause odds are good he will, if they can figure out who it is (since the Guardian didn’t share the name with the Army, per the article.) So what’s the story?

  • Ledericas@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    8 days ago

    alot of them tend to be sourced from rural or red areas, not surprsiing most of them are white bumpkins. if you’re a poc, you will face some racism at some point, it would be miraculous if you dint.