This lack of a redemption arc in society troubles me deeply. Who here didn't do stupid shit as a kid? Who here thinks the same way now as they did when they we 15or 16? Hell, I can think of a particular Base Disciplinary Chief was caught selling cocaine while in uniform as a young sailor. I'm old enough to remember guys who joined the military rather than go to jail. The military used to be seen as the place to go if you needed to turn your life around. The sad thing is that the quality of soldier, sailor or airman hasn't improved while we have been pickier and pickier. I remember losing good candidate over good candidate when I was working in recruiting for a reserve regiment. They weren't even joining because they wanted a job they just wanted to be in the army but after 9 months to a year of bs they lost interest.
I don't know this guy's story. But it seems as if this was in the past and he isn't the same person anymore. It seems like maybe the CAF was what he needed instead he will probably fall right back into his old habits and instead of having a reformed white supremacist in the CAF, we will have a relapsed white supremacist who probably will hold stronger beliefs now than they did before. I all for throwing the book, the kitchen sink and a tire iron at anyone who actively advocates for, or takes part in, violence against a minority group based on their status as a minority group. I'm all for charges against people who act in a discriminatory manner in the course of their duties. I am all for remedial measures against anyone who acts in a manner that would make a reasonable person uncomfortable beyond the usual discomfort that comes from this crazy outfit. However, I do not like the idea of bands of people searching out individuals for tweets or forum posts they made years ago and leveraging that information to get them fired.
To take off my moral hat for a second, think about what this does to our security vulnerabilities. Imagine you were a dumb kid on 4chan back before you joined. For you old folks 4chan is a beautiful cesspool of anonymous people who have brought down criminals, turned racist words into running jokes and otherwise spread chaos. Now imagine a Russian hackers contacts you and says, "I have proof you posted these racist images on 4 Chan 10 years ago. Load this file on to a computer or I will send it to the press". The Russians have a lot of practice with this as they used homosexual behavior and early commmunist leanings for example, as leverage against NATO personnel for most of the Cold War. I know most people think they would resist it but in reality a significant number people would fold like a lawn chair if threatened with the firing and public shaming that came with it.
In short, by all means get rid of anyone engaging in racist or otherwise discriminatory behavior, after following the appropriate process. Absolutely deny enlistment to people who hold these views currently. But people are not who they were. They are who they are now. Judge them as such and don't let an online mob decide who should be fired. IMO, a better approach would be to get the young fella to have a press conference talking about how the CAF saved him from those types of viewpoints, even if he has to told forcefully that the CAF has indeed saved him from those ideas.