Presence of neo-Nazis once again haunts US military

ATLANTA - The latest revelation on the appearance of at least 40 active-duty US soldiers on a neo-Nazi social networking website has confirmed the controversial government report released in April about the growing presence of white supremacy in the military.

According to the disclosure by the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were at least 40 profiles related to active-duty military members on NewSaxon.org, known as the “fascist Facebook,” csmonitor.com reports.

“I love and will do anything to keep our master race marching,” writes “WhitePride85,” who claims on the site to be a 24-year-old staff sergeant from Madison, Wis.

The civil rights organization, which delivered its report to the House and Senate Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees on Monday, raised new questions about how serious the Army is about rooting out rank-and-file neo-Nazis.

“There are many people in the military using new technology to put up racist profiles, racist music and books that they love that are racist, and as the regulations stand today that’s not grounds for being tossed out of the military,” SPLC spokeswoman Heidi Beirich said.

Undersecretary of Defense David Chu, however, told the SPLC that the Army has zero tolerance for racists in the ranks.

Jeffrey Castro, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., said his command investigates supremacist leanings only in relation to felony accusations. “Being a gang member, for instance is not a felony-level crime.”

It’s the unit commander who determines whether a soldier a neo-Nazi, and the Army policy states that commanders cannot, however, dismiss them.

In 2007, the FBI reported on concern about white supremacists recruiting soldiers, saying “hundreds” of neo-Nazis were in the active military.

Such groups hope to utilize their combat skills in “a coming race war,” says former marine TJ Leyden, an ex-white supremacist and author of “Skinhead Confessions.” (ANI)