Army personnel can’t always identify extremist behavior, and almost half the time they don't know who they are supposed to report such activity to, according to an internal audit obtained and released this week by an activist group.
The audit further illustrates shortcomings first identified in a USA TODAY investigation last year, which found the armed forces could show almost no progress on orders to eliminate extremism in the ranks, despite an effort launched in the wake of the Jan.
6 insurrection.
The newly released audit was completed in July 2023. It was obtained by the Project on Government Oversight under the Freedom of Information Act, and released Thursday. It shows researchers with the U.S. Army Audit Agency interviewed more than 400 people from July 2022 to July 2023, including commanders at 11 commands across the country, active duty soldiers and civilian Army personnel.
Auditors found Army leaders had held “stand-downs” and counseling on extremism, had discussed extremism in training and “took the topic seriously.
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But despite the training, Army personnel couldn’t always identify extremist activity. For example, the audit notes, 10% of those interviewed did not identify that “using force, violence, or unlawful means to deprive individuals of their rights under the U.S. Constitution” is considered extremist activity by the Army. Further, 21% of survey respondents “didn’t identify donating money to a group advocating the superiority of one racial group as prohibited behavior.
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