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.

  • LwL@lemmy.world
    7·
    5 days ago

    I saw a youtube video from a woman that had a similar experience yesterday. Came from a deeply red, rural community, and went not to war but to a military base in okinawa. She talked about how many of the US military structures are actually quite socialized (everyone at the same rank gets the same salary, free healthcare, etc.) and also about how eye opening it was to get a different perspective on the pacific war than just the narrative of the US.

    I can definitely see how just leaving the country for a place with a radically different culture alone could push you towards more leftist views (though afaik in military bases you still have to actively seek out interaction with anything outside the base), to say nothing of experiencing the horrors of war first-hand.

    • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net
      5·
      5 days ago

      She talked about how many of the US military structures are actually quite socialized (everyone at the same rank gets the same salary, free healthcare, etc.)

      I love how we’re told socialism is awful and bad for the public, and yet for the military it’s a perk for serving your country. “Of course they deserve housing and healthcare and education, they’re risking their lives for our freedom!” So are you rewarding them or punishing them?

      Just one more layer of hypocrisy.