Rats in the ranks: Fears extremist groups have infiltrated the Australian Army as he launches an investigation into serving soldiers with links to white supremacist groups.
- Several soldiers linked to far-right groups
- The Australian Army has launched an investigation.
A handful of Australian soldiers have been linked to neo-Nazi groups, prompting an urgent investigation by the army.
At least three soldiers are believed to have joined the military after becoming members of or communicating with a white supremacist group.
One has close ties to Operation Werewolf, a far-right group that promotes Aryan supremacy and teaches its members combat training and unarmed hunting.
A handful of Australian soldiers have been linked to neo-Nazi groups, prompting an urgent investigation by the army.
Another soldier joined the military after completing boot camp run by a white supremacist group and mixed with at least two members of another chapter.
The soldier had completed an obstacle course for the Underground Resistance, a white supremacist group that promotes race wars.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organization has launched several investigations into the group since its formation in 2016.
The far-right organization uses the slogan: ‘We are the Hitler you have been waiting for’.
The group has been behind several racist campaigns and has targeted schools with large ethnic populations, posting signs reading “Keep Australia White”.
Members also spread false propaganda linking homosexuality to pedophilia in the lead up to the 2017 same-sex marriage mail-in ballot.
The soldier who attended the boot camp also socialized with two members of the National Socialist Network, Australia’s largest neo-Nazi group.
The Melbourne-based group has generated a lot of publicity in the past for its far-right stunts.
Its members gave a Nazi salute at Swinburne University in 2020 and stormed Australia Day celebrations to chant “white power” in the Grampians National Park in 2021.
An anti-terrorist police report seen by Age claimed that the group had previously had access to firearms.
The soldier who attended the boot camp also socialized with two members of the National Socialist Network, Australia’s largest neo-Nazi group (pictured, NSN members give the Hitler salute at Swinburne University in 2020)
“NSN advocates that its members spur a ‘white revolution’ to inspire change for the white race, achieved by overthrowing the current social and political order to establish a National Socialist system,” it said.
The revelations from white supremacist affiliates have raised concerns about loopholes in the Australian military’s vetting process.
An Australian Defense Force spokesman said soldiers with questionable links to inappropriate groups or activities would be investigated.
“There is no place for illegal or inappropriate association with groups or organizations espousing extremist ideologies, extremist views or criminal activities within the Australian Defense Force,” it said.
‘Defense works closely with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify and counter threats to Defense and Defense personnel that involve ideologically motivated extremism.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Defense Force for comment.
