Febuary 4, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is ordering military leaders to spend time talking to their troops about extremism in the ranks, after a number of former and current military members took part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol last month.

Chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Austin met with all of the military service chiefs and secretaries on Wednesday and told them he was ordering a “stand down” by all units in the next 60 days. Kirby said they are still working out details but that Austin — the department’s first Black defense chief — is determined to address the issue and is gathering more information about how best to take it on.

Kirby said while extremism has been a problem in the military in the past, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which left five people dead, was a “wake-up call” for military leaders. He said Austin wants to get a better handle on the breadth of the problem.

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