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Why was military asked to stand down? Rob Wittman slams Defense Secy Lloyd Austin's order to tackle extremism

The Virginia lawmaker sought to know what is the definition of extremism and why he feels the step could turn into a 'political screening'

Virginia GOP Representative Robert Wittman feels Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s call for “stand down” to combat extremism in the ranks of the military as a step that symbolized more of a "political screening". 

Last week, Austin, the first Black to serve as the country’s defense secretary, ordered military commanders to talk to their troops over extremism in the ranks of the armed forces — an issue that has caused the Pentagon to worry for a while and which the new defense secretary has pledged to deal with. 

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On February 6, he tweeted: “Yesterday, I directed all CO's and supervisors to select a date within the next 60 days to conduct a one day 'stand-down' on extremism in the military. This is an opportunity for us to listen, learn, and try to find solutions — and it's only a first step.”

Wittman, who spoke with the conservative Breitbart News recently, was asked by the outlet’s senior editor-at-large, Joel Pollak, about Austin’s “stand-down” remark. He said the “stand-down” move is driven by partisanship. 

Pollak said during the interview: “I’m very concerned about Lloyd Austin. He got a waiver from Congress just like James Mattis did… Lloyd Austin said some really astonishing things in his confirmation hearing. He talked about enemies within the military, and now we’re going to pause military operations over the next 60 days to make sure that there are no extremists, and by this, they mean extremists on the right within the military.”

At his hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the 67-year-old Austin said: “The job of the Department of Defense is to keep America safe from our enemies. But we can’t do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks.” He also said: “If confirmed, I will fight hard to stamp out sexual assault, to rid our ranks of racists and extremists, and to create a climate where everyone fit and willing has the opportunity to serve this country with dignity.”

Pollak added: "The military is the most diverse institution in America, so I don’t know why they think they’re going find a bunch of white supremacists in the military. I think it’s kind of a Democratic prejudice against the armed forces and law enforcement in general.”

Wittman responded saying: “When we’re standing down, what message does that send to our adversaries? What is our posture around the world when we’re looking to deter our enemies if they’re looking at us standing down?”

'What is the definition of extremism?'

He added: “I think the [stand down order] also creates, potentially, a risk and then I would want to know — and I think other members of the Armed Services Committee want to know, too — is what is the definition of ‘extremism’? We understand when members and military come in, they go through a security background check to make sure that there’s nothing there that would be of issue in them serving the nation.” The Virginia lawmaker feared that the defense secretary's call for removing “extremism” from the military does not become “political” screening.

“I do not want to see an effort where this does indeed become political. I want to make sure we understand that. That needs to be transparent. It needs to be thoughtful, and we need to fully understand what are the definitions they’re using. If they do separate somebody, why do they separate them? [We must] understand what was the reasoning behind it, so we can see that it’s not political. … What is this evaluation of extremism?”

Chief Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said last week that the new defense secretary is determined to take on extremism in the ranks of America’s armed forces and is gathering information on how to address the problem in the most effective way. Speaking to the media, Kirby said: “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.”