Biden's defense secretary Lloyd Austin will order troops to STAND DOWN in the next 60 days to 'address white nationalism and extremism in the ranks'

  • Austin said there will be a pause in regular activities in the next 60 days 
  • He underscored the need to rid the military of 'racists and extremists' 
  • Austin made history when he was confirmed as first black defense secretary 
  • It comes after former military members participated in the Capitol siege 

The U.S. military on Wednesday acknowledged it was unsure about how to address white nationalism and other extremism in its ranks, and announced plans for military-wide stand-downs pausing regular activity at some point in the next 60 days to tackle the issue.

The decision to a hold a stand-down was made by Lloyd Austin, who made history by becoming the military's first Black defense secretary after a long career rising in the ranks of the Army. 

In his confirmation hearing, Austin underscored the need to rid the military of 'racists and extremists'.

A stand-down order means taking the military off an offensive footing but does not mean all military operations would stop at once. 

The Pentagon did not define whether stand-downs pausing regular activity across the U.S. military might last minutes or hours, or what commanders would do during that time to express opposition to extremism. 

Subsequent orders will be issued from the Pentagon. 

President Biden's defense secretary Lloyd Austin orders troops to stand down for 60 days to address 'white nationalism and extremism in the ranks'

President Biden's defense secretary Lloyd Austin orders troops to stand down for 60 days to address 'white nationalism and extremism in the ranks'

The decision to a hold a stand-down was made by Austin, who made history by becoming the military's first Black defense secretary after a long career rising in the ranks of the Army. In his confirmation hearing, Austin underscored the need to rid the military of 'racists and extremists'.

The decision to a hold a stand-down was made by Austin, who made history by becoming the military's first Black defense secretary after a long career rising in the ranks of the Army. In his confirmation hearing, Austin underscored the need to rid the military of 'racists and extremists'.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Austin ordered the stand-down after a meeting with the U.S. military branch leaders, who are under pressure to show progress in combating extremism after current and former military servicemembers were found to have participated in the siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

The Pentagon has yet to define how it will deal with extremism or offer data estimating how many service members hold white nationalist ideology. It has also not disclosed how many troops have been disciplined for extremism.

'We don't know how we're going to be able to get after this in a meaningful, productive, tangible way and that is why he had this meeting today and that is why he certainly ordered this stand-down,' Kirby told reporters.

MILITARY AT CAPITOL RIOTS

Larry Rendall Brock Jr: Retired Air Force lieutenant colonel 

Ashli Babbitt: Air Force veteran 

Adam Newbold: Retired Navy SEAL  

Emily Rainey: Army psychological warfare captain  

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It was unclear whether the announcement was meant to foreshadow any near-term concrete actions by President Joe Biden's Pentagon or whether the stand-down was more of a symbolic move, meant to demonstrate Austin's acknowledgement of the problem and continued resolve.

The announcement came as mourners filed beneath the U.S. Capitol dome to pay tribute to Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died from injuries sustained during the January 6 storming of the seat of government.

The assault on the building led to the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, who spoke at a rally in his final days in office and urged supporters to go to the Capitol and 'fight.' His impeachment trial in the Senate for inciting the siege is scheduled to start next week.

The MAGA mob rioters included at least 21 current or former members of the US military or law enforcement, with many of them caught on camera using military-style tactics like the 'ranger file'.  

This photo taken on the steps of the US Capitol shows a line of men wearing combat helmets and body armor in a formation known as 'ranger file'. It is standard operating procedure for a combat team that is 'stacking up' to breach a building and is instantly recognizable to any US soldier or Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan

This photo taken on the steps of the US Capitol shows a line of men wearing combat helmets and body armor in a formation known as 'ranger file'. It is standard operating procedure for a combat team that is 'stacking up' to breach a building and is instantly recognizable to any US soldier or Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan

One particular photo of Trump supporters on the steps of the Capitol showed a line of men wearing combat helmets and body armor as they walked in a single-file line, each man holding the jacket collar of the one ahead. 

The formation, known as 'ranger file,' is standard operating procedure for a combat team that is 'stacking up' to breach a building - instantly recognizable to any US soldier or Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan

It was a chilling sign that many at the vanguard of the mob that stormed the seat of American democracy either had military training or were trained by those who did.

A review of public records, social media posts and videos carried out by the Associated Press has since identified nearly two dozen military or law enforcement personnel as being at or near the Capitol riot. More than a dozen others are currently under investigation and have not yet been publicly identified. 

In many cases, those who stormed the Capitol appeared to employ tactics, body armor and technology such as two-way radio headsets that were similar to those of the very police they were confronting. 

Among the most prominent to emerge so far include multiple Air Force veterans, a retired Navy SEAL, an active duty Army psychological warfare captain and Virginia police officers. 

RETIRED AIR FORCE: Larry Rendall Brock Jr, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and decorated combat veteran from Texas, was arrested after he was photographed wearing a helmet and body armor on the floor of the Senate, holding a pair of zip-tie handcuffs

RETIRED AIR FORCE: Larry Rendall Brock Jr, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and decorated combat veteran from Texas, was arrested after he was photographed wearing a helmet and body armor on the floor of the Senate, holding a pair of zip-tie handcuffs 

Brock was photographed on the Senate floor during the deadly riot wearing a helmet and heavy vest and carrying plastic zip-tie handcuffs

Brock was photographed on the Senate floor during the deadly riot wearing a helmet and heavy vest and carrying plastic zip-tie handcuffs

Adam Newbold had posted a Facebook video about traveling from his Ohio home to the rally and seemingly approving of the invasion of 'our building, our house.'
Newbold's more than two-decade military career includes multiple combat awards for valor

RETIRED NAVY SEAL: Adam Newbold, a retired Navy SEAL, which is among the most elite special warfare operators in the military, had posted a Facebook video about traveling from his Ohio home to the rally and seemingly approving of the invasion of 'our building, our house.'

Larry Rendall Brock Jr, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and decorated combat veteran from Texas, was arrested after he was photographed wearing a helmet and body armor on the floor of the Senate, holding a pair of zip-tie handcuffs. 

Brock, 53, was released to home confinement after a prosecutor alleged the former fighter pilot had zip-tie handcuffs on the Senate floor because he planned to take hostages.

AIR FORCE VETERAN: Ashli Babbitt, a Air Force veteran from San Diego, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to leap through a barricade near the House chamber

AIR FORCE VETERAN: Ashli Babbitt, a Air Force veteran from San Diego, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to leap through a barricade near the House chamber

'He means to kidnap, restrain, perhaps try, perhaps execute members of the U.S. government,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Weimer said. 'His prior experience and training make him all the more dangerous.'

Ashli Babbitt, another Air Force veteran from San Diego, was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to leap through a barricade near the House chamber. 

Adam Newbold, a retired Navy SEAL, which is among the most elite special warfare operators in the military, had posted a Facebook video about traveling from his Ohio home to the rally and seemingly approving of the invasion of 'our building, our house.'  

Newbold, whose more than two-decade military career includes multiple combat awards for valor, said in a January 5 Facebook video: 'We are just very prepared, very capable and very skilled patriots ready for a fight.'

He later posted a since-deleted follow-up video after the riot saying he was 'proud' of the assault.

In an interview with the Task & Purpose website, Newbold denied ever going inside the Capitol. He added that because of the fallout from the videos he has resigned from a program that helps prepare potential SEAL applicants. 

Two police officers from a small Virginia town, both of them former infantrymen, were arrested by the FBI after posting a selfie of themselves inside the Capitol and then allegedly boasting about their actions on Facebook. 

She insisted she acted within Army regulations and that no one in her group entered the Capitol or broke the law
Army commanders at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are investigating the possible involvement of Capt. Emily Rainey, a 30-year-old psychological operations officer and Afghanistan war veteran

 PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE CAPTAIN: Army commanders at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are investigating the possible involvement of Capt. Emily Rainey, a 30-year-old psychological operations officer and Afghanistan war veteran

Also under scrutiny is an active-duty psychological warfare captain from North Carolina who organized three busloads of people who headed to Washington for the 'Save America' rally.  

Army commanders at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are investigating the possible involvement of Capt. Emily Rainey, a 30-year-old psychological operations officer and Afghanistan war veteran. 

She said she traveled with 100 others to Washington to 'stand against election fraud.' She insisted she acted within Army regulations and that no one in her group entered the Capitol or broke the law.

'I was a private citizen and doing everything right and within my rights,' Rainey said. 

The review of hundreds of videos and photos from the insurrectionist riot shows scores of people mixed in the crowd who were wearing military-style gear, including helmets, body armor, rucksacks and two-way radios. 

Dozens carried canisters of bear spray, baseball bats, hockey sticks and pro-Trump flags attached to stout poles later used to bash police officers. 

Experts in homegrown extremism have warned for years about efforts by far-right militants and white-supremacist groups to radicalize and recruit people with military and law enforcement training, and they say the Capitol siege saw some of their worst fears realized.

'ISIS and al-Qaida would drool over having someone with the training and experience of a U.S. military officer,' said Michael German, a former FBI agent and fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. 

'These people have training and capabilities that far exceed what any foreign terrorist group can do. Foreign terrorist groups don't have any members who have badges.' 

Brian Harrell, who served as the assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security until last year, said it is 'obviously problematic' when 'extremist bad actors' have military and law enforcement backgrounds.

'Many have specialized training, some have seen combat, and nearly all have been fed disinformation and propaganda from illegitimate sources,' Harrell said. 'They are fueled by conspiracy theories, feel as if something is being stolen from them, and they are not interested in debate. This is a powder keg cocktail waiting to blow.'   

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