Press Update: Veterans less likely to support extremism, new RAND study shows

We the Veterans had the opportunity to express our thoughts on RAND’s most recent report on veteran support for political extremism in the United States. Extremism within the military’s active duty ranks and the veteran community received increased scrutiny due to the prevalence of military experience among those arrested for their actions on January 6th. However, the report highlighted some positive findings: when compared to the general public, veterans are less likely to support extremist groups or ideologies. 

"I think when people put their hand in the air and swear to support and defend the constitution, that oath doesn't end when we leave the Department of Defense,” said our board member, Joe Plenzler, to NPR. 

In an interview with Military Times, co-Executive Director Ellen Gustafson said, “It’s wonderful to see the validation in this report that most military veterans are not so far down the rabbit hole of either side of the sort of extremist organizations that are very much trying to target them.”

Read the rest of the RAND report here.