The U.S. Navy has removed a training document that appeared to conflate socialists with terrorists, following The Intercept’s publication of that document on June 22.
“The course manager directed the immediate removal of the ‘Training Guide / Assignment Sheet 2-1-2 / Introduction to Terrorism/Terrorist Operations’ on June 23, and the command is conducting a focused review on terrorism-related curriculum to ensure we don’t have unintended messaging,” said Dave Hecht, a spokesperson for the chief of Navy personnel.
A second department official not authorized to speak publicly confirmed that the document had been removed from training manuals.
The document included a list of questions for trainees, including the following: “Anarchists, socialists and neo-nazis represent which terrorist ideological category?” The correct answer, a Defense official told me, was “political terrorists.”
The training guide was part of an approved curriculum for anti-terrorism officer courses, according to Hecht.
“While each [Naval Education and Training Command] course undergoes a formal course review every three years, the Center for Security Forces has been directed to review this and related curriculum for other such references,” Hecht said.
The document’s problematic language illustrates the challenges of developing a curriculum on political extremism in the military, especially when it comes to politically fraught subjects such as socialism.
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
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IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
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I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
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