Guest Post by Christopher Roach
One of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s first actions after confirmation has been to order a “60 day stand down” to combat extremism. This follows the widespread and mostly baseless establishment fantasy that “right-wing extremists” and “white supremacists” are running rampant and pose some immediate threat to the country.
The details and definitions will ultimately determine whether this campaign is a sensible one that is in keeping with the Constitution or ends up being a purge of the overwhelmingly conservative ranks of the military. No reasonable person would object to removing dangerous and disloyal people from the service, but such a limited goal is distinct from punishing those with merely dissenting and idiosyncratic views. For example, a recent briefing among the Army’s Special Forces singled out Pepe the Frog and the Gadsden Flag as signs of extremism. These popular symbols—one an historical American flag—are widely embraced among the mainstream Right.
Continue reading “The Coming Military Purge”
