Membership in a white supremacist or neo-Nazi group won't necessarily get a U.S. service member tossed out of the military, defense officials told a House subcommittee Tuesday.
The officials, including representatives of Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, appeared to make a distinction between membership in an extremist organization and "active participation" in deciding on recruitment and retention.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/12/neo-nazi-group-membership-may-not-get-you-booted-military-officials-say.html
When I entered the USAF Academy in 1972, race relations within the US military were pretty strained. We had quite a few lectures and training sessions while I was there on race relations. Things seemed to get better over the years, although I wouldn't claim the USAF is perfect when it comes to race relations. It's amazing to me that we've circled back to where someone can be a member of a white supremacist or neo-Nazi group and still be allowed to serve in the military as long as you're "simply a member" but not an "active participant".
Could someone join the Communist Party, the Taliban, the Black Panthers, etc., as long as they claimed they weren't "active participants" in these groups?
"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.
The officials, including representatives of Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, appeared to make a distinction between membership in an extremist organization and "active participation" in deciding on recruitment and retention.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/12/neo-nazi-group-membership-may-not-get-you-booted-military-officials-say.html
When I entered the USAF Academy in 1972, race relations within the US military were pretty strained. We had quite a few lectures and training sessions while I was there on race relations. Things seemed to get better over the years, although I wouldn't claim the USAF is perfect when it comes to race relations. It's amazing to me that we've circled back to where someone can be a member of a white supremacist or neo-Nazi group and still be allowed to serve in the military as long as you're "simply a member" but not an "active participant".
Could someone join the Communist Party, the Taliban, the Black Panthers, etc., as long as they claimed they weren't "active participants" in these groups?
"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.