Study Found No ‘Extremism’ Problem in the Military, Despite Biden Administration’s Narrative

A recently released independent study showed that there was no extremism problem in the United States military, despite the Biden Pentagon making it a top priority to root out alleged extremists.

The study, which was commissioned by the Department of Defense, conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses, and publicly released just four days before Christmas, “found no evidence that the number of violent extremists in the military is disproportionate” to U.S. society.

The report noted that the Pentagon’s own data showed there were fewer than 100 substantiated cases per year of extremist activity by members of the military in recent years.

However, the Biden administration’s — as well as the establishment media’s — focus on so-called extremism in the military came after some veterans were found to have participated in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Biden’s then-top military adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, famously told members of Congress during a hearing that he wanted to understand the “white rage” that he believed was behind the riot.

And some of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s first moves as defense secretary were to stand up a “Countering Extremism Working Group” and to implement a force-wide “stand down” for commanders to discuss extremism with their troops.

The IDA looked into whether currently-serving troops were among those charged in relation to the events of January 6, 2021 and found fewer than 10 who were charged.

“Of the more than 700 federal cases in which charges were publicly available a year after these events, fewer than ten were for individuals who were serving in the military at the time,” the study said.

“Based on the size of the military relative to the general population and considering the rate of charges for males and females, we find no evidence that service members were charged at a different rate than the members of the general population,” the study added.

The study also found that there were only 73 veterans out of the more than 700 people charged, and that on average, they were separated from the military for nearly 15 years.

A Wall Street Journal editorial board piece noted that the study was a “welcome rebuke to the narrative that the military is a breeding ground for domestic terrorism.”

The piece also credited the study’s authors for warning that the risk of widespread polarization and division in the ranks “may be a greater risk than the radicalization of a few service members.”

Aside from extremism, the Biden Pentagon has placed a focus on the potentially divisive issues of race and gender during its tenure and is slated to spend nearly $270 million on diversity, equity, and inclusion, or “DEI,” initiatives in just two years, according to a Daily Wire report.

Republican lawmakers, particularly members who are veterans, have long argued that DEI is more harmful to the military than the alleged risk of extremism, pointing out that service members of different races have long worked side by side to accomplish their missions.

The WSJ editorial board echoed that view, writing, “The U.S. military reflects the strengths and weaknesses of American society. But it has a strong culture that keeps men and women from joining the political fringes: Uniting members of all races and creeds in a common purpose, and steeping them in the military’s rich tradition of duty, honor, country.”

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