We will not tolerate actions that go against the fundamental principles of the oath we share, including actions associated with extremist or dissident ideologies. Service members, DoD civilian employees, and all those who support our mission, deserve an environment free of discrimination, hate, and harassment.
— Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Extremism Stand-Down Memo, Feb 5, 2021
When the new secretary of defense ordered a DOD-wide stand-down to discuss the problem of extremism in the ranks in February 2021, he almost certainly didn't have U.S. Army First Lt. Khadijah Simmons in mind. She was a 27-year-old officer who identifies as Black and Mexican-American and says she enjoys "museums and travel and history — and if it's Black history, even better." She planned on a career as a military dentist, and there are no indications anyone in her unit based at Fort Polk, Louisiana, saw her as a controversial figure in any way.
