found that Black Marines were convicted and punished at courts-martial at a rate five times higher than other races across the Marine Corps.
The new National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Biden on Monday directs the Secretary of Defense to make a recommendation to Congress within 180 days if a new statute is needed to address violent extremism, but does not address hate crimes or racial disparities in military law.
The AP investigation also found that while the DOD says it considers racism and extremism within the military to be a “security concern,” it does not have funding that specifically supports efforts to address extremism. Instead, military officials said the Pentagon uses personnel vetting programs, training, and education programs, and the Insider Threat Program to “positively contribute to countering extremism within the force.
Susan Corke, the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, commended the DOD for taking key steps this year, including the changes announced last week, to address extremism. She said the DOD sought the expertise of civil rights organizations, academics, and others who have sounded the alarm about the dangers of extremism in the ranks for years.
Reserve Marine Maj. Tyrone Collier visits the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial near his home in Arlington, Va., on April 17, 2021. When Collier was a newly minted second lieutenant and judge advocate, he recalls a salute to him from a Black enlisted Marine. But even after Collier acknowledged the gesture, the salute continued. Puzzled, Collier asked why the Marine held it for so long."He said, 'Sir, I just have to come clean with something. ... We never see Black officers.
In the 1970s, extremism in the military gained national attention when the Ku Klux Klan was found to be operating openly at Camp Pendleton, a U.S. Marine Corps base in southern California. White Marine klansmen openly distributed racist literature on the base, pasted KKK stickers on barracks doors, and hid illegal weapons in their rooms.
Weinberger did issue a directive instructing service members to “reject participation in white supremacy, neo-Nazi and other such groups which espouse or attempt to create overt discrimination.”
What exactly is supposed to change? Your article neglected to mention that UCMJ action is driven by the unit commander. Being arrested for a crime does not necessarily equate a court martial. A DUI arrest my mean a trial in federal court, but non-judicial punishment from DOD.
Genuinely asking, May we please have some specific examples of the bias you are referring to in the statement “Decades of Pentagon efforts fail to stamp out bias.” Bias against soldiers? Bias against people who would like to be soldiers?