A soldier was kicked out of the army because he allegedly joined in order to get good at killing black people, and lied to get security clearance.
The story begins, with an investigation for multiple charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, which took a turn when prosecutors found out darker secrets about a former Fort Bragg soldier.
An FBI investigation uncovered that Killian M. Ryan, who previously served with the 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery and the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, made untruthful statements in his secret security clearance application. Ryan was a Fire Support Specialist. His position gathers information on the enemy’s positions to know where to target shooting. He has not been deployed for service since he failed to secure the clearance for the position.
Last May 2020, Ryan said in his application that he hasn’t made contact with his father during the past ten years. His father was convicted of drug and auto theft. During the investigation, it was discovered that he had been talking to his father. Photos of the two were revealed. Ryan has allegedly been using multiple social media accounts to hide interaction with his dad.
A further probe of his social media accounts showed that he was in communication with extremists. Ryan also posted that he serves the military for “combat experience” so he becomes “more proficient in killing” black people.
That’s a big red flag.
According to court records, among his accounts, there was a username that was in reference to a Norse mythology character named Sigurd, who was linked to white supremacists. One of the email accounts that was allegedly his had the user name “naziace1488.” The 14 in his username was from a phrase by David Lane, a former leader of an obsolete white supremacist terrorist organization. The 88 is said to represent the letter H from “Heil Hitler.”
On August 26, Ryan was arrested on the charge of making a false statement and was discharged from military service.
The case is important as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he is prioritizing the removal of extremism in the military. He also ordered that proper behavior for service members be enforced, and that the department update its policy on extremism. He emphasized that investigators of military personnel should check social media and other electronic records for “hidden” information.
The life of a “private” is not private. This soldier’s ranking turned out to be lower than the rank of a private, which is pretty low.
