WEBVTT

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Hello . We created this video to

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address a serious issue within the

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Department of Defense . On February 5

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2021 , the Secretary of Defense

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directed Unit Commanders and

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Supervisors at all levels to address

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the issue of extremist ideology in our

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ranks . To set the stage , let's listen

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to what Secretary Austin has to say

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about the issue .

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Hello , everyone . I'm Lloyd Austin ,

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Secretary of Defense . I want to thank

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you for participating in this stand

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down and I thank your leadership for

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supporting this important initiative .

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And let me say right at the outset that

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there is not a single doubt in my mind

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that you take seriously your oath to

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the constitution , in that you serve

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this country with honor and

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dignity and character in that

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you believe in and uphold our core

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values each and every day . Many of

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you have deployed in harm's way to

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defend those values and some of you are

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in harm's way at this very moment and I

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want you to know that I'm grateful for

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that . I also want you to know that

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your fellow citizens are grateful for

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that . You see , we understand the

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sacrifices that you and your families

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are making to defend this nation and we

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know a stand down like this can seem

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like yet another task to undertake

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another burden . But the truth of the

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matter is we need your help .

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I'm talking of course about extremism ,

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an extremist ideology views and

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conduct that run counter to everything

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that we believe in in , which can

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actually tear at the fabric of who we

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are as an institution .

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You know , I've seen this before , I've

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lived through it as a soldier and as a

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commander . It's not new to our country

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and sadly it's not new to our military .

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What is new is the speed and the

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pervasiveness with which extremist

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ideology can spread today . Thanks to

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social media and the aggressive and

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organized and emboldened attitude ,

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many of these hate groups and their

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sympathizers are now applying to their

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recruitment and to their operations .

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You know , it concerns me too . I think

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that anyone wearing the uniform of a

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soldier or sailor and airman , marine

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or Guardian or coast guardsmen would

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espouse the source of beliefs , let

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alone act on them . But they do .

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Some of them still do .

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We've got to be better than that and

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not just for ourselves and the sort of

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work environment that we want to

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cultivate for each other , but also for

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the country and the very idea of what

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the United States represents to the

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world . And that's the discussion

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that I want you to have today . I want

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you to revisit the oath that you took

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when you join the military and when you

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re enlisted or got promoted . Read

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those words again , consider what they

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really mean , and think about the

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promise that you made to yourselves and

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to your teammates and to your fellow

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citizens . I also want you to share

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with your leadership , your own

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personal experiences with encountering

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extremist , an extremist ideology in

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the military . Should you have any .

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And I want your leadership to listen to

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those stories and I want them to listen

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to any ideas that you might have to

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help us stamp out of the ranks , the

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dangerous conduct that this ideology

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inspires . And

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so I want you to remember also that

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we've got important things to do .

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Ladies and gentlemen , we have serious

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commitments around the world and people

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depend on us so we can't afford actions

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and behavior that are at odds with our

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values and that undermine good order

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and discipline that harm or harass

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and otherwise violate the oath that we

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share and the bonds of trust upon which

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we all rely again ,

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thank you for what you and your

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families do each and every day .

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Thank you for upholding your oath and

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thank you for helping us get smarter

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about dealing with this very important

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readiness issue . I'm proud to be on

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your team .

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As americans . We value our individual

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rights , rights such as freedom of

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speech and the freedom of assembly are

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part of the fabric of american

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democracy . However , we need to be

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mindful that as members of the military ,

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there are limitations on how we can

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legally exercise these rights . As you

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heard in Secretary Austin's remarks ,

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extremist ideologies , particularly

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those which undermine the oath we each

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took to support and defend the

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constitution of the United States

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against all enemies foreign and

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domestic have no place in the

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Department of Defense , the Air

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National Guard or this wing . As

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members of the profession of arms . Our

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success relies on teamwork . We're all

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tasked to take incredible risks and

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that can only be made possible through

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trust in each other . Anything that

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divides us or undermines unit cohesion

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has no place in the service of our

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country actively espousing

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ideologies which encourage

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discrimination , hate and harassment

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will not be tolerated here or anywhere

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else in the Department of Defense . I

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expect the core principles of dignity

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and mutual respect to guide the actions

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of our members at all times . To

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include those conversations were going

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to have here today . The vast majority

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of our military members perform their

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duties and responsibilities with the

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utmost of integrity and do not support

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racially or ethnically motivated

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violent extremists or other domestic

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terrorists such as anti government

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violent extremists . However , recent

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events have shown that we must be ever

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vigilant in our efforts to identify and

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combat such ideologies within the D . O .

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D . Including our wing

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as I alluded to earlier upon enlistment

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or commissioning , we each took an oath

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of office . Now we need to understand

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the significance of that oath and how

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it ties into our profession of arms

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taking that oath commits us to a higher

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purpose to perform to the best of our

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ability with a sense of honor without

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any mental reservation or purpose of

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evasion and with consequences for

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failing to live up to the promise ,

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simply put we're held to a higher

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standard whether in uniform or not ,

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the citizens of this great nation place

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a special trust in those who serve in

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the military because we , as military

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professionals have made a commitment to

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serving and protecting them and the

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constitution and we owe it to them to

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live up to that commitment that oath

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every day we serve to meet

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this commitment . Service members of

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all ranks must embrace all races ,

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nationalities , cultures , abilities ,

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ages , genders and orientations . It's

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the richness of diversity that allows

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the Air Force in the International

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Guard to break through barriers and to

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reach its highest potential . So now

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that we know the background , let's

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discuss specific expectations . It's

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important to note that the Department

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of Defense recognizes a service members

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right of expression under the First

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Amendment of the United States

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Constitution and seeks to preserve that

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right for all military members to the

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greatest extent possible . That said ,

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there are times when a service members

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right of expression must be curtailed

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in order to maintain good order and

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discipline national security and unit

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cohesion . To expand upon that diode

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policy does allow military person to

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participate demonstrations as long as

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they are not on duty or in uniform ,

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are not giving the impression that

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they're acting or speaking on behalf of

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the military and are not engaging in

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activities that are illegal or likely

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to result in violence . However , D . O .

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D . Policy does prohibit military

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personnel from actively participating

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in criminal gangs or organizations that

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advocate supremacist extremist or

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criminal gang doctrine , ideology or

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causes . D . O . D . Policy prohibits

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organizations that attempt to create

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discrimination based on race , creed ,

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color , religion , ethnicity or

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national origin . And D . O . D .

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Policy prohibits organizations that

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advocate the use of force , violence or

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criminal activity or otherwise engage

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in efforts to deprive individuals of

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their civil rights . Now , membership

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in these organizations is not

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prohibited , but active participation

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is prohibited . So what does active

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participation means ? Active

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participation includes but is not

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limited to fundraising for or donating

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money to the organization ,

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demonstrating or rallying . You can't

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distribute material including posting

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stuff online . You can't knowingly

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where gang colors are clothing , have

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tattoos or body markings associated

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with such gangs or organizations . And

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you can't engage in activities

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furthering the objectives of those

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organizations that are detrimental to

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good order and discipline or are

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incompatible with military service . If

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a member violates any of these policies ,

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commanders , supervisors and leaders at

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every level heavy authority to employ

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the full range of disciplinary actions ,

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including involuntary separations ,

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nonjudicial punishment and criminal

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prosecutions . So don't do it . Don't

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violate these policies . Furthermore ,

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as airmen , each of us has a

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responsibility to report members that

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are violating this policy . This

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responsibility includes reporting

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behavior that could be a sign of future

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extremist or violent behavior . Reports

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can be made through your chain of

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command . However , if you're not

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comfortable doing so , reports can be

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made through the Wing Inspector General ,

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the National Guard Egg , the Secretary

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of the Air Force I . G . R Wing

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Security Force squadrons or the Air

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Force Office of Special Investigations .

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I encourage anyone with more specific

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questions or anyone requiring

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additional guidance to reach out to the

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based legal office . Our Jags will be

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able to point you in the right

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direction . Now I ask that you take

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some time to discuss the issue of

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extremism and the military amongst

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yourselves . Please provide any

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feedback on this issue and what we

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could or should be doing better to

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fight this issue through your chain of

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command . Any feedback received will be

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consolidated at the wing level and

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provided to N . G . B . And the

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Secretary of Defense . Well I

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understand this can be a sensitive

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subject . It's important that we

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address extremism head on to ensure it

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never takes root in our culture here in

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peoria . Thank you for your time and

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thanks for what you do