Gangs in the Military

Beginning in the early nineteenth century the urban industrial development in this country brought thousands of immigrants into American cities. The immigrants that were not old enough to begin working grouped themselves into small clicks that became known as gangs. Initially these groups of young people were limited to small neighborhoods but as time and technology advanced they were able to spread beyond the confines of Boston, New York City, Chicago and other industrialized cities. This movement away from the urban centers was aided in many ways but none were more effective at scattering the populace that military service. Young men from the city found themselves living and working not only in strange parts of their own country but foreign ones as well. It has been said that the U.S. Military is a cross section of the America's people. That being said it is not hard to understand that people with a criminal background would be serving in uniform.

A recent study released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ([FBI], 2007) suggested that gang activity in the U.S. Armed Forces is on the rise. The Department of Defense, however, released a statement explaining that less than one percent of those in uniform are members of any type of gang. Gang experts and some senior leaders within the military still maintain that gang activity is a growing concern. Members of nearly every major street gang have been identified on both domestic and international military installations (FBI, 2007).

Over the last decade, gangs have been observed in almost every European country. Decker (2003) wrote that they utilize the symbols, style of dress, behavior and language of American gangs with adaptations to their host culture (p. 15). This bit of evidence supports the idea that military personnel who have knowledge of gangs are spreading it throughout the world as their assignments to these countries changes. Some experts admit that many if the features of American gangs can be exported through movies, books and the internet but the level of knowledge of gang processes observed by law enforcement cannot be picked up from these forms of entertainment. Contradicting what the Department of Defense has stated the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command published a report that detailed an increase in the number law enforcement reports identifying gang activity (U.S. Army 2007).

The report published by the U.S. Army was prompted by the beating death of soldier in 2005. The soldier was taking part in a ritualistic initiation for a gang known as the Gangster Disciples. The ritual consisted of being beaten by other gang members for a specified amount of time. At the completion of the beat-in the soldier was not able to stay conscience and subsequently died of the injuries he sustained. Throughout the course of the investigation the investigators discovered that the other gang members were active duty soldiers and airmen that had been participating in criminal gang activity both in Germany, where they were stationed, and while deployed to Iraq. Sadly this is not only instance in which gang activity has negatively impacted the image of the U.S. Military and America itself.

In 2007 an altercation in a high school in Baumholder, Germany was related to gang activity (U.S. Army, 2007). Only one of the two young men involved in this incident had any gang affiliation but the connection is disturbing nonetheless. The young gang member was recruited by his father into the Gangster Disciples once he reached the age of fifteen. Additionally this young man took his new found membership to the streets of Baumholder and recruited new members for his father's gang. The FBI (2007) also has documentation of gang activity taking place in Iraq. Graffiti has been located and identified on every operational base that the U.S. Armed Forces has occupied (FBI 2007).

All of this information begs the question, how do gang members get into the military? The answer is unfortunately a simple one. In most cases gangs target young impressionable people for recruitment. One of two things then can happen. Either the gang member's criminal offenses are sealed when they become old enough for military service therefore allowing them access to the military or the young person is kept away from the criminal aspects of gang activity until they are active within the military. In many ways gangs act almost in the same manner as terrorist sleeper cells (FBI, 2007). A common trend that has been identified by both military investigators and their civilian counterparts is that of the "sleeper" gang member. This is a young man or woman that has no tattoos or criminal past to identify gang affiliation. The reason for military service is to gain the training in combat techniques as well as the logistics involved in moving large quantities of material easily. Additionally you have look at why people join gangs in the first place. There is the school of thought that says young people join gangs out of a desire to belong and to be protected from others. There are, however, some experts that say that gang membership is a rational choice based not on the need of protection and belonging but one of economic gain. Siegel (2006) wrote that it is easy to show that some youth join gangs as a result of rational, objective thought, especially when they involve an ongoing criminal conspiracy centered on economic gain (p. 104). This can be seen most readily in gang's roles in drug trafficking and prostitution rings.

There are too many examples to list here that show a direct relationship between gang activity and military service. The reality of an ongoing war and the subsequent lowering of enlistment standards guaranties that gang activity in the U.S. Military will continue to rise until it reaches a point that everyone will have to sit up and recognize it. Then effective measures can taken to combat the issue.
References

Decker, Scott H. Ph.D. Understanding Gangs and Gang Processes. National Major Gang Task Force. Indianapolis: National Major Gang Task Force, 2003. 15-16.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2007). Intelligence Assessment: Gang-Related Activity in the US Armed Forces Increasing. Washington, DC; U.S. Government Printing Office.

Siegel, Larry J. Criminology. 9th ed. Belmont: Thompson Wadsworth, 2006. 104.

U.S. Army. (2007). Summary Report Gang Activity Threat Assessment Fiscal Year 2007. Washington, DC.