Irregular Army : How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals

An explosive investigation into how America’s longest wars created a threat from within by flooding the U.S. military with extremists now fueling MAGA, domestic terror, and the global far right.

In this new edition of Irregular Army, investigative journalist Matt Kennard delivers a searing exposé of how the U.S. military’s recruitment crisis during the War on Terror opened the ranks to some of the most dangerous elements in American society—white supremacists, neo-Nazis, gang members, and convicted criminals. This updated edition deepens the original’s urgent warning, connecting those recruitment policies directly to the rise of MAGA extremism, Trumpism, and the global resurgence of fascism.

Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with extremist veterans and military insiders, Kennard reveals how the Pentagon knowingly empowered violent ideologues in its desperation to staff the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now back on American soil—and in some cases in positions of power—many of these veterans see their mission continuing through race war fantasies, far-right organizing, and criminal enterprises.

With chilling clarity, Irregular Army links the War on Terror’s domestic fallout to the January 6 insurrection, the militarization of MAGA politics, and the broader threats of global instability. As Trump returns to the White House and the Pentagon edges further right, Kennard’s book is an essential account of how American imperial violence abroad is fueling authoritarian danger at home—and around the world.