Army Caught Labeling Nonprofit Organizations as Terrorist Groups in Antiterrorism Training Materials for Soldiers

A PowerPoint slide shown to trainees at Fort Liberty mislabeled real nonprofit organizations and terrorist groups for years before photos of the mistake went viral on social media.

According to Lt. Gen. Patrick Matlock, the Army deputy chief of staff, since the images of the slides were shared online, the army has removed those slides from their training while an investigation is underway.

Some mislabeled nonprofits include People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Operation Rescue, National Right to Life, Earth First, Earth Liberation Front, and Animal Liberation Front.

According to Military Times, Congressman Andy Kim, who represents the Third Congressional District of New Jersey said:

"Incorrectly labeling legitimate organizations as terrorist groups not only undermines the credibility of the training, but also puts service members at risk of being unfairly scrutinized or penalized based on their associations or memberships."

Kim said: "We must be cautious and purposeful in how we define and identify threats to our national security."

According to Agnes Gereben Schaefer, the assistant secretary of the Army, the slides have been shared since at least 2017 with over 9,000 soldiers.

The Army is currently investigating all of its training materials.

"We fully acknowledge that this incident has revealed a gap in our processes at the command level that has existed since these slides were first developed in 2017 and that we need to alleviate the potential for individuals to develop training materials without appropriate supervisory review," Schaefer said. "The recently directed Army-wide review is intended to close that gap."