Fort Lee pauses for extremism discussion

Credit: Brian Stevens | Date Taken: 03/23/2021
FORT LEE, Va. – Army Soldiers and government civilians at Fort Lee are taking part in a DOD-wide extremism stand-down this week. The high-priority awareness and education campaign was set into motion by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Feb. 5 – just two weeks after he was sworn into his position. In a message to military leaders, he emphasized the stand-down is only the beginning of what he believes “must be a concerted effort” to better educate the force about the scope of the problem and to “develop sustainable ways to eliminate the corrosive effects that extremist ideology and conduct have on the workforce.” All military departments were subsequently ordered to complete the stand-down by April 1. The opening session at Fort Lee’s Memorial Chapel Tuesday morning had about 200 attendees, most of them joining in via teleconference. Col. Karin Watson, garrison commander, led the discussion that covers four main topics – the oath of military and government civilian service, impermissible behaviors, warning signs of extremism and reporting procedures.