Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Signs Military 'Stand Down' Memo To Address Extremism

Meanwhile member and veteran suicide rates continue to hold at about 22 per day and toxic leadership like at Ft Hood continues unchecked and without a standown.

LTC David Brown - They are all problems. But the larger than average representation of active duty and veterans, larger than the overall population, is an issue. Maybe only 140 people have been charged out of a population of over 300M, but that isn't a reason for us to dismiss this as not being a large problem. The underlying social problems in the general population, and the military, are still there.

I'm sure you remember the bad reputation of the military after Vietnam and the hard won respect we now enjoy. I don't relish the thought of that all being washed away because we ignored traitors in the ranks. That's not an issue that can be ignored.

SPC Kevin Ford - My fear is this will turn into a witch hunt! The total in your article is 27 were veterans OR active Duty out of 140 people involved.

LTC David Brown - 27 out of 140 is way out of proportion for the number of active duty and veterans in the general population, which is the root of the problem. I hear you on the witch hunt, and your analogy on sexual assault is pretty apt. The military has been dealing with sexism, racism and all sorts of 'isms' for years. Extremism is the next in line (and likely not the first time the military has dealt with it). It's one of those things that is going to take time and constant command attention, perhaps not at the forefront, but as a constant culture and climate of saying that it is wrong and won't be tolerated.

It won't be anything that happens overnight, and sometimes the military will fail at it. But it is something we have to deal with.

I am putting active duty and veterans together because that's how the public sees them. Apparently there is something about military service that is attracting them.

SPC Kevin Ford - Of course you wouldn't. It's because of people like you that history is doomed to repeat itself.

SFC Michael McCauley - Oh I know enough history to recognize you easily enough. You're the guy that argued against allowing black people into the military, then when they were let in you argued against integrating them. Then you argued against letting women in. Now when we've got a bunch of racist insurrectionists in the ranks, predictably you're arguing against doing something about that too. Oh I know enough history to recognize you.

Oh? you think you know me do you? you may want to look in the mirror.

SFC Michael McCauley - You dished it out, you should be man enough to take it too.