COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Service: General
FBI details threat from gangs in military
FRANK MAIN, Sun Times
January 2007
Members of the Hells Angels, including an Army lieutenant colonel from
Illinois, have served the U.S. military in Iraq. Another Iraq war veteran,
a Marine who belongs to the Maniac Latin Disciples street gang, is charged
with shooting three teens in Aurora.
They are examples of growing gang activity in the military, which "poses a
threat to law enforcement officials and national security," according to a
new FBI report obtained by the Sun-Times.
"The military enlistment of gang members could ultimately lead to the
worldwide expansion of U.S.-based gangs," the report warned.
The report by the FBI's National Gang Intelligence Center said gang members
sneak into the military by failing to report criminal convictions or using
fake documents. Some have sealed juvenile records unavailable to
recruiters. And most of the recruiters are not properly trained to
recognize gang affiliation, the report said.
"Military recruiters under pressure to meet recruiting goals have engaged
in criminal violations such as overly aggressive recruiting tactics and
document falsification, " said the report.
While gang members constitute a "fraction" of the military, the extent of
the problem is difficult to gauge because the military is not required to
provide the FBI with statistics on crime at military posts. Still, the FBI
has documented disturbing examples of how gang members get into the
military -- and the crimes they commit in the service.
In 2005, for instance, a Latin Kings member was allegedly recruited into
the Army at a Brooklyn, N.Y., courthouse while awaiting trial for
assaulting a New York police officer with a razor. He was reportedly
instructed by the recruiter to conceal his gang affiliation, the report said.
Reportedly steal weapons
Many members of the Illinois-based Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and the Hells
Angels have military experience and have been known to recruit soldiers due
to their explosives and firearms experience, the report said. One of the
most violent gangs -- the MS-13 -- is increasing its presence on or near
U.S. military installations, the FBI said.
Some gang members use their military positions to steal weapons and other
equipment.
Last year, an Army soldier who is a gang member identified 60 to 70
gang-affiliated military personnel in his unit allegedly involved in the
theft and sale of military weapons and supplies, the report said. The
soldier said many of them were sergeants in charge of ammunition and
grenade distribution and that commanders were aware of their actions.
Training can be deadly
And earlier this month, two Illinois National Guard soldiers were charged
with selling stolen body armor, night-vision goggles and other military
equipment to undercover federal agents. A third, unnamed soldier may have
intended to supply Chicago gangs with body armor he stole in Iraq,
according to a conversation secretly recorded by the FBI.
Gang members in the military also are applying their battle training to the
streets when they return home, the FBI warned. One Iraq veteran in
California apparently relied on his Marine training in a shootout that
killed a police officer and wounded another.
The Sun-Times began investigating gangs in the military last year after
obtaining photos of gang graffiti on military equipment and buildings in
Iraq. Some of the graffiti referred to Chicago-based gangs such as the
Black Disciples and Latin Kings.
This archive consists of a topically organized selection of
articles culled by members of the Counter-Recruitment List Serve from printed
publications and web sites. The archive is not complete. We have chosen
material relevant to the work of