Decades of DOD efforts fail to stamp out bias, extremism

By KAT STAFFORD and JAMES LAPORTA
Associated Press

An AP investigation found that despite new Defense Department guidelines on extremism, racism and discrimination remain an ongoing concern in the military. The investigation shows the new guidelines do not address ongoing disparities in military justice under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the legal code that governs the U.S. armed forces. The new Pentagon rules do not outright ban service members from being members of extremist organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan or other right-wing and white nationalist groups. The regulations, like the previous ones, only prohibit “active participation,” in such groups. The new rules issued last week said liking or reposting white nationalist and extremist content on social media could result in disciplinary action.