The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered the directors of joint military education institutions and combatant commanders to scrutinize the scope and content of their training and education courses that deal with Islamic extremism because of complaints that some of the content was inflammatory.
According to reports from the Army News Service on April 25, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, sent a letter to the institutions after students at the Armed Forces Staff College (now called the Joint Forces Staff College -- JFSC) in Norfolk, VA, raised concerns about the content of a class entitled "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism." Dempsey ordered the course closed until the study is complete, said the report.
The report quotes Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby.
Reportedly, a Power Point slide presentation in the course contained what some said were inflammatory statements. One slide, according to Kirby, asserted "that the United States is at war with Islam and we ought to just recognize that we are at war." "That's not at all what we believe to be the case: We're at war with terrorism, specifically al-Qaida, who has a warped view of the Islamic faith. That's just one example," Kirby said.
Dempsey ordered an inquiry into the course to determine how the material got into the course, and what is needed to improve it. The course has been taught at the staff college since 2004, according to the report. The JFSC trains military personnel from all armed services to work in concert to plan and execute operational-level joint, multinational, and interagency operations and instill a primary commitment to joint, multinational, and interagency teamwork.
"Our concern is there are some unprofessional things being taught to students in professional military education curriculum," Kirby told reporters on April 25.
According to the Army News Service report, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was made aware of Dempsey's order and shares the general's concern. "He also completely endorses the chairman's intention to look at joint professional military education across the board to make sure we have done an adequate scrub on the content of this type of curriculum," Kirby said.
Kirby said some of the material in the course was not simply objectionable but inflammatory. A student who finished the course last month brought it to the chairman's attention.