The U.S. military spent $1 million and 5.8 million man-hours last year on programs meant to stamp out extremism from the ranks, foster a diverse military and prepare for national security challenges of climate change,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. a recent letter to Congress.

The letter, dated Jan. 6, was released Tuesday by Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee who had asked Milley in November for details about the money and time spent on those three areas, which have been the focus of the concerns of Pentagon policymakers since President Joe Biden was inaugurated.

The majority of the money and time detailed in Milley’s letter went to force-wide extremism, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered shortly after taking office.

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The military services, combatant commands and Joint Chiefs of Staff spent an estimated 5.4 million man hours and $535,000 on the withdrawal.

Man-hours “average just over 2 hours per Service member in a total force of 2.46 million and are comparable to other Joint Force recurrent training requirements,” Milley’s letter noted. . The money reflects administrative costs and does not include wages that would have been paid regardless of the type of work performed, the letter adds.

Austin ordered the suspension of units to discuss the issue of extremism after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The military has long struggled to root out extremists from its ranks, but the Capitol attack brought the issue to the fore, as dozens of those arrested had military backgrounds.

Pentagon officials acknowledge the number of extremists in the military is small, but say even one is too many and corrosive to good order and discipline.

But although officials say they are prioritizing the issue, there continue to be signs the military is struggling to deal with extremism-related cases. Of five military personnel charged in the Jan. 6 attack, only one Army reservist was removed from the force, while a National Guardsman who pleaded guilty and was sentenced was allowed to remain in custody.

The Pentagon released a plan in December to tackle extremism in the ranks, but experts said it fell short.

Republicans, however, have accused the Biden administration of overstating the threat from extremists in the ranks and using it as cover to attack conservatives in the military.

“We face real threats around the world, but the Biden administration is more focused on promoting its left-wing social agenda in the military instead of countering China, Russia and Iran or creating an effective counterterrorism plan,” 12 Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee said. in a joint statement on Milley’s letter.

The only Republican on the committee who did not sign off on the statement was Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, although he has issued similar criticisms in the past.

The Army has also spent 529,771 man-hours on diversity, equity and inclusion training since Jan. 21, 2021, as well as $476,874 in contract support and administrative costs related to the training, according to the letter from Milley.

These numbers do not include training that was in place before Jan. 21, 2021, such as the Army’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program, the letter said.

A series of Associated Press investigations last year found that deep-rooted racism and discrimination in the services persist despite repeated efforts to eradicate them.

Republicans have attacked diversity, equity and inclusion training as “critical race theory,” which is actually a complex legal theory largely confined to graduate courses that examines the intersection of race and law.

Milley has previously argued with Republicans over their accusations that the military promotes critical race theory and offered a strong defense of being well-read.

“I read Mao Zedong. I read Karl Marx. I read Lenin,” Milley said during a contentious congressional hearing in June. “That doesn’t make me a communist. So what’s wrong with understanding, having a situational understanding of the country we’re here to defend?”

The military also spent $5,000 and 1,059 man-hours preparing the “Climate Adaptation Plan” the Pentagon released in October, according to Milley’s letter.

The plan, which was required by an executive order Biden issued shortly after taking office, calls for making military bases energy self-sufficient and for the military to improve their “climate literacy.”

Military officials have long identified climate change as a threat to national security, both because problems caused by climate change, such as food shortages, can lead to military conflict and because extreme weather conditions can seriously damage military bases.

For example, in 2018 hurricanes caused an estimated $3.6 billion in damage at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and $4.7 billion in damage at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.

— Rebecca Kheel can be reached at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Pentagon’s plan to tackle extremism in the ranks is a start, but experts say problems are looming

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