COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: General
Coast Guardsman Faces KKK Recruiting Charge
Sean Gonsalves, Cap Cod Times
July 13, 2006
HYANNIS
- A Coast Guard petty officer stationed at Air Station Cape Cod is
facing numerous charges, including recruiting for the Ku Klux Klan and
illegal possession of a cache of weapons and explosive powder.
Yesterday, Coast Guard investigators announced 25-year-old Petty
Officer Chad Blair had been charged under Article 32 of the Uniform
Code of Military Justice.
An Article 32 hearing, which is akin to a grand jury hearing in
civilian courts, is slated for Aug. 1. If the presiding officer finds
probable cause, a court-martial may be recommended, according to
military law.
Though Blair should be presumed innocent until the legal process
runs its course, hate-group watchdogs are following the case closely
because of what they say is a growing problem of white supremacist
infiltration of the military.
Citing interviews with Defense Department investigators, reports,
magazine articles and Internet postings of racist organizations, the
Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist and right-wing militia
groups nationally, estimates thousands of white supremacists may be in
the military today.
The charges against Blair have piqued national interest and the
attention of the law center's Intelligence Project, which maintains a
database of documented hate groups and tracks their development.
Blair, a procurement officer, joined the military in January
2004. Among the weapons charges he faces are allegations that he
possessed a destructive device - explosive material - and a
''large-capacity'' firearm. In legal terms, a ''large-capacity''
firearm is a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun.
Chief Petty Officer Scott Carr said investigators seized a total
of seven rifles and pistols alleged to have been in Blair's possession.
None of the weapons belonged to the military.
Because of the ongoing investigation, Carr said, there was little
he could say about Blair, the weapons or Blair's alleged involvement
with the Klan.
''While he has been charged, we are still dealing with allegations at this point,'' Carr said yesterday.
Blair remains on active duty until, or unless, he's been proven
guilty. He has been restricted to Air Station Cape Cod on the
Massachusetts Military Reservation while the case is pending.
''He still works with his unit but he is not doing normal
(procurement) duties. He is doing roads and ground maintenance,'' Carr
said.
Neither Blair nor his attorney could be reached for comment yesterday.
The Coast Guard investigation began after Barnstable police
identified Blair as the person who posted recruitment fliers for Klan
membership in Barnstable Municipal Airport bathrooms. The first flier
was taped to a mirror in a men's bathroom on March 6.
A copy of the flier provided to the Times by airport manager
Quincy Mosby, who is black, depicts a hooded man, fist clenched, riding
a hooded horse. Beneath the picture, the text reads, ''Become a TRUE
New England Patriot, join the Klan!''
The poster directs prospective Klan members who want to ''put an
end'' to the trampling of ''our heritage, rights and future'' to an
e-mail address and a post office box in California..
''This is a time for action!'' the flier concludes.
Similar posters appeared in two airport bathrooms on March 13 and
March 20, according to police, who confronted Blair on the Coast
Guardsman's way to an anger-management meeting being held at the
airport.
Blair admitted posting the fliers, police said, but he said that
he broke no laws because the posters didn't threaten any specific
individual.
Yesterday, Mosby, who retired from the Air Force in 2001 as a
senior master sergeant, said he was surprised with the severity and
number of charges.
But, he said, ''having worn the uniform and having sat on
numerous court-martial boards, I know the military doesn't tolerate
these kinds of activities from any of its members, and rightly so.''
There are three different types of court martial hearings -
summary, special and general, Mosby said. Of the three, general court
martial hearings can inflict the most severe penalties on a convicted
service member, such as jail time and dishonorable discharges.
Mark Potock, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's
Intelligence Project, essentially agrees with Mosby. However, Potock
said, the center's recent study, which he co-authored, revealed that
military recruiting shortfalls have caused some recruiters and
commanders to ''look the other way'' when it comes to soldier
membership in white supremacist organizations.
''Our report doesn't say that all recruiters and commanders are
ignoring the presence of extremists in the military. Clearly, that's
not the case. But what we did find is that there are individual
commanders and recruiters who are turning a blind eye,'' he said.
''It's driven by the need to put people in Iraq and the real
recruiting troubles they are having; not some kind of conspiracy,''
Potock said.
The center's study (www.splcenter.org) quotes a Defense
Department investigator as saying, ''We've got Aryan Nation's graffiti
in Baghdad. That's a problem.''
Though Blair has yet to have his day in court, the issues raised
by the case, Potock said, point to a nationwide trend toward
xenophobia, driven in large part by the immigration debate.
In 2000, there were 602 documented hate groups in America,
compared with 803 in 2005 - a 33 percent increase over five years, he
noted.
Carr acknowledged that while there's been a recruitment shortfall
in other branches of the military, the Coast Guard hasn't had any
problems for the past five years. A total of 400 of the 3,950
recruiting slots are left to fill this year, he said.
''Over the last three years, we reached all-time highs in minority recruitments,'' Carr said.
In 2003, 25 percent of all Coast Guard recruits were minorities.
In 2004, the number rose to 35.7 percent. Minority recruitment is down
slightly this year, at 34.5 percent, he said.
Sean Gonsalves can be reached at sgonsalves@capecodonline.com.
(Published: July 13, 2006)
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