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FIRST ON FOX: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called a set of training slides that deemed pro-life groups as terrorist organizations a “grievous error” that he’ll work to ensure doesn’t happen again, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
“This characterization was not only inaccurate but also deeply inappropriate,” Driscoll wrote to a group of attorneys for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), who represents Operation Rescue, one of the pro-life groups affected.
Thousands of soldiers at Fort Bragg were trained in counter-terrorism and security practices with slides that listed groups such as National Right to Life and Operation Rescue alongside recognized extremist organizations, and even pointed to pro‑life license plates as potential warning signs. The practice went on for seven years, until 2024.
“Equally concerning was the previous administration’s inadequate response to this serious incident. Its failure to provide full transparency or take responsibility for such a grievous error is wholly unacceptable.”
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Driscoll said the Army has since reviewed all security training materials, including anti-terrorism training, and removed the slides that referenced pro-life groups, along with a slew of pro-animal and green groups like PETA, as “terrorist organizations.”
“Please be assured that I am firmly committed to rigorous oversight of all Army training materials to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.”
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Agnes Schaefer, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and Reserve affairs, said that the training deck, which was used to teach 9,100 Army soldiers, was “inconsistent with Army’s antiterrorism policy and training.”
The training module was used to instruct soldiers on what to look out for when guarding points of base access.
She claimed there is “no evidence” to suggest the individual who created the slide deck did so to “deliberately subvert” Army policy or to “further a personal viewpoint.”
“Thank you for standing up against the Leftist ideology that had been infecting our military branches and bogging down our warfighters, often cloaked in the bureaucratic morass,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of ACLJ, in a statement responding to the letter.
“We know you have a lot of work to do, and that you took time to address this — not just in response to an oversight function of Congress, but directly to our client who was among those harmed — confirms your commitment to the values for which you fight.”
The slides caused a stir among congressional Republicans, who demanded answers from Army officials in a hearing last year and took issue with Schaefer’s assurances the slide did not represent a personal viewpoint.
READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE
“It’s downright ridiculous to claim the slide deck doesn’t ‘further a personal viewpoint,’ but there have been no consequences for the employee who ran anti-life training sessions at Fort Liberty that clearly violated Army policy,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in September.
It’s not clear if anyone involved in the slide’s production and use has been fired or reprimanded.
Read the full article here
