ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130066
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
The Army, shocked by last week's arrest of two openly white-supremacist paratroopers who are accused of murdering a black couple near Fort Bragg, N.C., launched a new investigation Tuesday to determine the extent to which soldiers are participating in hate groups.
The investigation, to be conducted by the Army inspector-general, was announced by Army Secretary Togo D. West Jr. after he conferred with Defense Secretary William J. Perry and Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, the Army chief of staff.
It is expected to be completed by March 1.
West, who is black, told reporters at a briefing that participation in such hate groups is ``simply inconsistent'' with Army policy and vowed that ``we will not have it'' in the Army. Perry also said there was ``no place for racial hatred or extremism in the U.S. military.''
The slaying in North Carolina was only the latest such incident to besiege the Army this year. The service also suffered a black eye after it was discovered that those charged in the Oklahoma City bombing of a federal building that killed 169 in April began their association in the Army.
Discussing the North Carolina incident, West parried questions about why commanders at Fort Bragg did not take firmer action to deal with the two paratroopers when their sympathies with so-called ``skinhead'' groups were discovered, saying the case still is under investigation.
Army officials have said repeatedly they are under constraints as to how far field commanders may go in taking action against free expression of views - no matter how distasteful - without violating an officer's or soldier's constitutional rights.
Although the military generally has been praised for the progress it has made in providing opportunities for blacks and other minority groups, the Army has been plagued by a series of hate-related incidents in recent years that has tarnished its image on that issue.
Nevertheless, West rejected suggestions that he order an Army-wide ``stand-down'' - to stop all training and activities for a day of lectures about Army policy on extremist activities - as the Marine Corps and the Navy have done in response to recent sexual harassment incidents.
With the service getting ready for deployment to Bosnia, he indicated, ``I am not prepared to stand down Army activities. I don't think that is what is called for here.''
Army regulations prohibit soldiers from ``participation'' in organizations that espouse supremacist causes, seek to create illegal discrimination or advocate violence. But so-called ``passive'' activities, such as membership or receiving literature, are merely discouraged.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB