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A group of House Republicans is demanding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin investigate "left-wing extremism" in the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. military</a>.Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., himself a veteran, led five other GOP lawmakers in raising concerns related to the recent self-immolation of an active-duty Air Force member outside of the Israeli embassy."We write you today as members of Congress, many of us having served our country honorably, in our commitment to the security and integrity of our nation's armed forces. Your dedication to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-should-end-woke-hunt-for-military-extremism-says-fmr-green-beret" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rooting out extremist behavior</a> within our ranks has been well documented and demonstrates a commitment to maintaining the honor and cohesion of our armed forces," the Republicans wrote.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6214774371001" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR ABOARD THE USS ARIZONA REMEMBERS ATTACK 79 YEARS LATER</a>"It is with this shared commitment in mind that we urge your attention toward the equally pressing issue of left-wing extremism among active-duty service members and veterans."Their letter pointed out that the airman who lit himself on fire in February to protest Israel’s invasion of Gaza, Aaron Bushnell, was a self-declared "anarchist." They argued that his world view was "incompatible with that of our constitutional republic and entirely inappropriate for a member of the United States Military who had taken an oath to defend it at all costs."<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/hezbollah-fires-heavy-rockets-northern-israel-deadliest-day-israeli-strikes-lebanon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HEZBOLLAH FIRES HEAVY ROCKETS AT NORTHERN ISRAEL AFTER DEADLIEST DAY OF ISRAELI STRIKES ON LEBANON</a> "This act, motivated by his stated desire to protest Israel in what he described as complicity in injustice, demonstrates the potential for ideologically driven behaviors to undermine the values, discipline, and safety of our military community, irrespective of the political orientation of those ideologies," Van Orden’s letter said.The lawmakers pointed out multiple times that Austin has made <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/the-pentagon-is-investigating-extremism-in-the-military-heres-how-bad-the-problem-is" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combating extremism</a> in the military a priority of his leadership.In 2021, Austin established a working group on extremism in the military. He announced in April 2021 that it would be led by Bishop Garrison, the senior adviser to the secretary of defense on human capital and diversity, equity and inclusion.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/taiwan-major-line-defense-global-war-china-critical-us-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TAIWAN STANDS AS MAJOR LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST GLOBAL WAR WITH CHINA, CRITICAL FOR US SECURITY</a>"Given your prior work in confronting extremism within the ranks, we are confident that you recognize the importance of a comprehensive approach to this challenge," they wrote."It is imperative that our efforts to identify and mitigate extremist influences encompass all forms of ideology that threaten the cohesion and effectiveness of our armed forces."A Pentagon spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked for comment on the letter, "As with all congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the Members."

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published: 2024-04-03 14:01:04.000000000 Z
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 guid: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-demand-lloyd-austin-investigate-left-wing-extremism-military
title: House Republicans demand Lloyd Austin investigate 'left-wing extremism' in
 military
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content: A group of House Republicans is demanding that Defense Secretary Lloyd
 Austin investigate "left-wing extremism" in the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/military"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. military</a>.Rep. Derrick Van Orden,
 R-Wis., himself a veteran, led five other GOP lawmakers in raising concerns related
 to the recent self-immolation of an active-duty Air Force member outside of the
 Israeli embassy."We write you today as members of Congress, many of us having
 served our country honorably, in our commitment to the security and integrity of
 our nation's armed forces. Your dedication to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-should-end-woke-hunt-for-military-extremism-says-fmr-green-beret"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">rooting out extremist behavior</a> within our ranks
 has been well documented and demonstrates a commitment to maintaining the honor
 and cohesion of our armed forces," the Republicans wrote.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6214774371001"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR ABOARD THE USS ARIZONA
 REMEMBERS ATTACK 79 YEARS LATER</a>"It is with this shared commitment
 in mind that we urge your attention toward the equally pressing issue of left-wing
 extremism among active-duty service members and veterans."Their letter pointed
 out that the airman who lit himself on fire in February to protest Israel’s invasion
 of Gaza, Aaron Bushnell, was a self-declared "anarchist." They argued that his world
 view was "incompatible with that of our constitutional republic and entirely inappropriate
 for a member of the United States Military who had taken an oath to defend it at
 all costs."<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/hezbollah-fires-heavy-rockets-northern-israel-deadliest-day-israeli-strikes-lebanon"
 target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HEZBOLLAH FIRES HEAVY ROCKETS
 AT NORTHERN ISRAEL AFTER DEADLIEST DAY OF ISRAELI STRIKES ON LEBANON</a> "This
 act, motivated by his stated desire to protest Israel in what he described as complicity
 in injustice, demonstrates the potential for ideologically driven behaviors to undermine
 the values, discipline, and safety of our military community, irrespective of the
 political orientation of those ideologies," Van Orden’s letter said.The lawmakers
 pointed out multiple times that Austin has made <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/the-pentagon-is-investigating-extremism-in-the-military-heres-how-bad-the-problem-is"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">combating extremism</a> in the military a priority
 of his leadership.In 2021, Austin established a working group on extremism
 in the military. He announced in April 2021 that it would be led by Bishop Garrison,
 the senior adviser to the secretary of defense on human capital and diversity, equity
 and inclusion.<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/taiwan-major-line-defense-global-war-china-critical-us-security"
 target="_blank" rel="noopener">TAIWAN STANDS AS MAJOR LINE OF DEFENSE
 AGAINST GLOBAL WAR WITH CHINA, CRITICAL FOR US SECURITY</a>"Given
 your prior work in confronting extremism within the ranks, we are confident that
 you recognize the importance of a comprehensive approach to this challenge," they
 wrote."It is imperative that our efforts to identify and mitigate extremist
 influences encompass all forms of ideology that threaten the cohesion and effectiveness
 of our armed forces."A Pentagon spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked
 for comment on the letter, "As with all congressional correspondence, the Department
 will respond directly to the Members."
summary: House Republicans are calling on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to investigate
 &quot;left-wing extremism&quot; after a U.S. airman self-immolated outside of the
 Israeli embassy in February.
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url: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-demand-lloyd-austin-investigate-left-wing-extremism-military
image: https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/04/931/523/vanorden-austin-split.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

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