WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is reviewing how to improve screening of military recruits to eliminate extremism in its ranks after the riot at the U.S. Capitol served as a “wake-up call” when members of the military were discovered to have participated, a defense official said.
The services screen roughly 500,000 applicants each year who seek to join the military, of which about 200,000 enter as new recruits.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the review Wednesday during a meeting with all of the military service chiefs to get a better understanding of how deep extremist views may have infiltrated military ranks, and to begin to look for options to root them out.
