Gangs Spreading In The U.S. Military
Gangs in the military is nothing new.
When I first joined the navy (over 26 years ago), I was told that navy carriers had gangs onboard. I couldn’t figure out how that could happen in the US military. And a friend explained it to me: the military is just a microcosm and cross-section of American society. Whatever you find in America, you’ll find in the military. A carrier with 5,000 people onboard was bound to have gangs.
If DoD wants to get serious on gang issues, it needs to make participation in gangs as a disqualifying factor in enlistment.
So this article from CBS News comes as no surprise to me. 26 years later, gang activity was bound to spread throughout the military.
Evidence of gang culture and gang activity in the military is increasing so much an FBI report calls it “a threat to law enforcement and national security.” The signs are chilling: Marines in gang attire on Parris Island; paratroopers flashing gang hand signs at a nightclub near Ft. Bragg; infantrymen showing-off gang tattoos at Ft. Hood.
“It’s obvious that many of these people do not give up their gang affiliations,” said Hunter Glass, a retired police detective in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the home of Ft. Bragg and the 82nd Airborne. He monitors gang activity at the base and across the military.
“If we weren’t in the middle of fighting a war, yes, I think the military would have a lot more control over this issue,” Glass said. “But with a war going on, I think it’s very difficult to do.”
Gang activity clues are appearing in Iraq and Afghanistan, too. Gang graffiti is sprayed on blast walls – even on Humvees. Kilroy – the doodle made famous by U.S. soldiers in World War II – is here, but so is the star emblem of the Gangster Disciples.
The soldier who took photos of the graffiti told CBS News that he’s been warned he’s as good as dead if he ever returns to Iraq.
“We represent America – our demographics are the same – so the same problems that America contends with we often times contend with,” said Colonel Gene Smith of the Army’s Office of the Provost Marshal.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command reported 61 gang investigations and incidents last year, compared to just 9 in 2004. But army officials point out less than 1 percent of all its criminal investigations are gang related.
“We must remember that there are a million people in the army community,” Smith said, “And these small numbers are not reflective of a tremendous, pervasive, rampant problem.”
The rise in gang activity coincides with the increase in recruits with records. Since 2003, 125,000 recruits with criminal histories have been granted what are known as “moral waivers” for felonies including robbery and assault.
A hidden-camera investigation by CBS Denver station KCNC found one military recruiter was quick to offer the waiver option even when asked, “Does it matter that i was in a gang or anything?” That is well within military regulations.
“You may have had some gang activity in your past and everything … OK … but that in itself does not disqualify…,” the recruiter said.
Military regulations disqualify members of hate groups from enlisting, but there is no specific ban on members of street gangs.