The Army Is Investigating A Fort Bliss Soldier For Allegedly Having Ties To A White Supremacist Group
The U.S. Army is investigating a soldier stationed at Texas’ Fort Bliss for alleged ties to a white supremacist/neo-Nazi group, Army Times is reporting.
Authorities suspect Private First Class Corwyn Storm Carver, 22, of having ties to the Atomwaffen Division, which is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a “terroristic organization” of white supremacists. Besides advocating for white supremacy and white nationalism, members of the group have publicly advocated for raping Jewish women and for killing homosexuals. Further, Army Times writer Meghann Myers notes that the group has been “implicated” in hate-motivated murders.
In fact, according to Huffington Post, which has been investigating white supremacy, neo-Naziism, and other hate groups having members in the military, Carver may not just be a rank-and-file member of the group; he’s suspected of possibly being a leader.
Lt. Col. Crystal Boring, a spokesperson for the 1st Armored Division, says that’s not acceptable in the Army.
“The Army does not tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. When an individual enters into the Army, they are held to the high moral and ethical standards articulated as the Army Values. We uphold those same standards.”
In 2017, military newspaper Stars & Stripes reported that neo-Nazis, skinheads and other white supremacists are expressly forbidden from serving in the armed forces.
Company, subsidiary pay $2 million to US in bribery scheme involving Fort Bliss contracts – https://t.co/7VyaKAphaJ
— Aaron Martinez (@AMartinezEPT) May 3, 2019
To that end, military recruiters are taught to keep an eye out for tattoos that might reveal hate-based gang affiliation. Such tattoos include barbed wire, lightning bolts, skulls, and of course, swastikas.
Regardless of the military’s efforts to weed out soldiers with ties to hate organizations, several have managed to get through. For example, one of the figures in the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia had served. Dillon Ulysses Hopper, who was the leader of Vanguard America, one of the hate groups present at the rally, had, until a year earlier, been a member in good standing of the Marine Corps, even working as a recruiter.
Just how widespread is the problem of soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors having ties to hate groups remains unclear. As Huffington Post reports, a 2018 poll of military members found that 25 percent reported having encountered white nationalists within their ranks.
Further, members of such groups look to the military for training in weapons and tactics that can be used in carrying out their agendas. They may even be able to access weapons and explosives which can then be used in the cause of hate.
As for PFC Carver, he has refused to comment on the investigation, and hung up on a reporter who called him for comment.
