Photo By Chief Petty Officer Kyle Steckler | 210316-N-RG482-0011 (March 16, 2021) BREMERTON, Wash. – Sailors from Navy Medicine...... read more read more
By Chief Mass Communication Specialist Kyle Steckler, NMRTC Bremerton Public Affairs
BREMERTON, Wash. – Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton, as part of its ongoing support of the Chief of Naval Personnel’s order to stand down and conduct extremism training, began addressing the topic March 15, 2021 with small-group discussions around the command.
Initially ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a Feb. 5 memo to the individual services, Vice Adm. John B. Nowell, Jr., in a message to the fleet released on Feb. 19, said, “The intent of this stand-down is to ensure service members and civilian personnel clearly understand the damaging effects of extremism and begin developing more effective, sustainable ways to eliminate the corrosive impacts extremist activity can have on our force.”
The small-group discussions were preceded by a video distributed command wide. NMRTC Bremerton Command Master Chief Robert Stockton said that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, sharing an internally made - and disseminated - video to all hands is the best way for the command to start the conversation regarding extremism in the ranks of the Navy.
“This is just the beginning of a long discussion,” said Stockton. “Before command leaders get out there and start having smaller discussions, we wanted each Sailor and civilian working here to be on a level playing field regarding definitions and where we gathered our information.”
That information came from instructions and guides published by the Navy. Among them, OPNAVINST 5354.1G, the Navy’s Equal Opportunity manual; DODI 1325.06, Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces; as well as recent messages and memos from the Department of Defense and Navy leadership.
In the video, Capt. Shannon J. Johnson, commanding officer of Naval Hospital Bremerton and NMRTC Bremerton, laid out her expectations of the command.
“As your commanding officer, I want to make my expectations clear: extremist and supremacist actions, both in person and on social media, will not be tolerated by me or your chain of command,” said Johnson. “We will continue, as we always have, to treat each and every member of this command with kindness and respect. I have the utmost confidence that this team will continue to stand together in the face of any challenge, lead from the front, and thrive precisely because we celebrate our diversity, lift each other up and remain committed to our shared mission.”
The training included providing clarity on what extremism is. Extremism as defined by the Navy’s equal opportunity instruction, published in July 2017, is an ideology that espouses supremacist causes; attempts to create illegal discrimination based on race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex (including gender identity), sexual orientation, or religion; advocates using force or violence; or otherwise engages in efforts to deprive individuals of their civil rights.
While definitions were an important part of the training, defining what Sailors can and cannot do, and how to report prohibited activity, made up the majority of the training. Topics also included permissible and prohibited political activities, examples of unlawful participation in supremacist or extremist organizations, as well as permissible and recommended social media practices.
Another requirement during the stand down was a discussion and re-administration of the oath of office/enlistment, depending on rating, rank and/or position.
“When military members say their oaths, they swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, and that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” said Stockton. “We swear allegiance to the Constitution. Not a president or party, but one of the most important pieces of paper, ideas, ever created. ‘We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union…’ That’s how this country started, trying to form a union. The ideologies of these supremacist groups are in complete opposition to the oath we take. That’s why we’re raising our hands together and reaffirming that oath.”
Stockton said that one of the things he tells junior officers is that one of the highest honors an enlisted Sailor can give an officer is ask them to be their reenlisting officer, the person that administers the oath at a Sailor’s reenlistment.
“If a young service member comes to you and asks you to reenlist them, make sure that not only do you say yes, but that you understand the importance of that event,” said Stockton.
Lt. Shanece Washington, an audiologist stationed an NMRTC Bremerton and the command’s Equal Opportunity program manager, said that when she was asked to administer the oath to one of her Sailors, she immediately felt the weight of the responsibility.
“I wanted to make sure that I embodied that oath before I administer it to somebody else,” said Washington. “That relationship, between service members, but especially between enlisted Sailors and naval officers, you have to be able to trust each other, to work as a team, so it’s a privilege to be able to administer the oath. But also a big responsibility.”
Stockton said he understands that the vast majority of Sailors and staff at the command have nothing to do with the advocacy of extremist and supremacist beliefs.
“I get that this doesn’t apply to most, if not all, our Sailors and civilians,” he said. “But I want our people armed with knowledge. I want them to know what they can and can’t do as active-duty service members and government employees. I want them to know what is right and what is wrong according to instruction, policy and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That’s what these initial discussions are all about. Knowledge.”
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2021 17:29 |
| Story ID: | 391663 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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