FBI Says Gangs Infiltrating the US Military

To be honest, I find this astonishing.

During my time in the Territorial Army we had a chap wander into the unit who wanted to join. When he was asked if he had any criminal record he stated that he had been convicted of armed robbery. He was shown the door.
 
Back when I was on my way out I was at Ft. Knox and in the reception unit we (the company I was with) shared the building with had several "gangstas" in it, and there are some things in life you just can't hide. And that was in '92.
Why are they tolerated? I just can't imagine how military type people tolerating a minority in their own ranks undermining their efforts from within. Especially if they do that childish turf no go zone bullsh!t... Its just hard to understand.
 
Why are they tolerated? I just can't imagine how military type people tolerating a minority in their own ranks undermining their efforts from within. Especially if they do that childish turf no go zone bullsh!t... Its just hard to understand.


"a minority" clarify for me what this meant? If you are citing the occassional stereotype that it is African American, Hispanics, etc. only, then I find that very ignorant. If it was me that witnessed it, I wouldn't tolerate it. :wink:

If you mean gang relation as a whole in comparison to non-gang related U.S personell, then I agree. I am not sure if you are talking racial affairs, but that is the common misconception that people spout in U.S.

As for the no go zone turf thing, while not acceptable, it is something I understand. It is pretty much like countries nowadays and past times. I don't like gangs though, most of them ruin their lives. I understand them though, mass poverty causes crime.
 
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"a minority" clarify for me what this meant? If you are citing the occassional stereotype that it is African American, Hispanics, etc. only, then I find that very ignorant. If it was me that witnessed it, I wouldn't tolerate it. :wink:

If you mean gang relation as a whole in comparison to non-gang related U.S personell, then I agree. I am not sure if you are talking racial affairs, but that is the common misconception that people spout in U.S.

As for the no go zone turf thing, while not acceptable, it is something I understand. It is pretty much like countries nowadays and past times. I don't like gangs though, most of them ruin their lives. I understand them though, mass poverty causes crime.
Minority as a word is used here (Australia) in a little broader sense that it is not restricted to racial groups.

I also would question the effectiveness of screening efforts for personal. For example here if day my brother was convicted of something gang related and I had no record I would be rejected on the grounds of my relationship with my brother as a liability.

I was being alil ignorant about using the word as I neglected to remember that the word has a different meaning in the American context....:bang: my bad
Racial affairs here isn't so much of a problem. There are issues but we seem to have dealt with them in a more open and non stigmatized fashion.

I am confused why would a cohesive and close group of non gang members ie the rest of the military the majority of people in the military stand being undermined by a small number of gang members(to me gangsta's are a minority in the military).

I just don't get why the rest of the people are letting themselves be threatened and pushed around by gangs. When you are in the military I find it inconceivable that gangs have 'turf' on defence establishments.
how arew people screened? here if my family had ties to organized crime I wouldn't be able to get into the military...
 
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Minority as a word is used here (Australia) in a little broader sense that it is not restricted to racial groups.

I also would question the effectiveness of screening efforts for personal. For example here if day my brother was convicted of something gang related and I had no record I would be rejected on the grounds of my relationship with my brother as a liability.

I was being alil ignorant about using the word as I neglected to remember that the word has a different meaning in the American context....:bang: my bad
Racial affairs here isn't so much of a problem. There are issues but we seem to have dealt with them in a more open and non stigmatized fashion.

I am confused why would a cohesive and close group of non gang members ie the rest of the military the majority of people in the military stand being undermined by a small number of gang members(to me gangsta's are a minority in the military).

I just don't get why the rest of the people are letting themselves be threatened and pushed around by gangs. When you are in the military I find it inconceivable that gangs have 'turf' on defence establishments.
how arew people screened? here if my family had ties to organized crime I wouldn't be able to get into the military...

It is no problem; I figured you weren't talking about race anyways. I just wanted to be sure.

I am not sure how far screening goes, I assume it would depend on how far the family ties are in crime (if organized, I don't think they would let them in). I am not sure if they would stop a guy who has a brother that been in a gang from joining the military. I will leave those who have been screened and know more on that subject to answer.

Unfortunately there is a code in a good deal of U.S's major cities. I call it a "Code of Fear"; because I lived in New York City, I have plenty of experience with this code. It is a code that you shall mind your own business, no matter what, or suffer the consequences. It is unfortunately really easy to find people who will report a crime and threaten them and/or their families (no one likes a "snitch"). The reason I put "Fear" into it is because this is largely what keeps people from reporting crimes. This is wired into many people's head and allows crime doers to be more bold.

Thanks to the amount of people who are unwilling to say anything, crimes are able to stay at these high levels (fire arms make it really easy as well), not to mention the fact police officers can't really do anything without reason.

Thanks to rap and music like it downplaying those who try to uphold justice (regular civs and the justice department) by degrading their names, it is more into people's head from teen to early adulthood.


Because of the mass amounts of youths in the military (being from the rapping and mass song generation), I suspect that this could be part of the reason.

While freedom is great, people need to know that there are limitations, otherwise we all become undiciplined.
 
Surely the US military carry out back ground checks for everyone who joins, so are they simply letting these gang bangers join?
 
Surely the US military carry out back ground checks for everyone who joins, so are they simply letting these gang bangers join?


Background checks are usually contained on the subject and not his/her family. So if you have no history on you, yet your family do, they really can't touch you. I am not sure about the military though, I will research this. This is what I been saying a lot, the U.S military should up it's standards for recruitment (as well as basic training). A higher standard can possibly keep some of these "gangstas" out or from staying in the military for too long. As far as if you are related to someone that is in organized crime, I am not sure if the military will bar you personally, as there is a strong individual responsibility feeling in the U.S.

Like I said though; listen to all the music going around in the U.S (rap is one of the main ones). That could be one of the reasons, these celebrities are always into trouble and show a dislike towards police and people who value the law. Less people will report things simply because it is "snitching" and they fear their personal reputation. Unfortunately, this is moreso in the African American and Hispanic culture, which is due to many African American celebrities being rappers. There is not a relative amount of educational black celebrities.


I agree with you captiva, it is just like how terroism work. If you lean in to these unlawful people, they will swamp you like pirahhna, thinking they will get away with it. A strong community is what is needed.

I hope someone who knows more about the military screening sees this thread soon.
 
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All militarys I would hazard a gues have a form of criminality hiding in them.
Even in Australia we have had members including officers selling weapons to organised crime as well as your normal theft of equipment and consumables for personal gain. Hence we have the mandatory lectures ever year on fraud and ethics.
I really would like to know how BAD gang activity is in the US military. Is it just for personal gain or, is it for a higher purpose.
The yank military works effectively, so does gang activity have a huge impact or is it at an acceptable minor level in comparison with normal criminality that exists in the forces?
I would hate to work on a ship with no go areas!!!
 
All militarys I would hazard a gues have a form of criminality hiding in them.
Even in Australia we have had members including officers selling weapons to organised crime as well as your normal theft of equipment and consumables for personal gain. Hence we have the mandatory lectures ever year on fraud and ethics.
I really would like to know how BAD gang activity is in the US military. Is it just for personal gain or, is it for a higher purpose.
The yank military works effectively, so does gang activity have a huge impact or is it at an acceptable minor level in comparison with normal criminality that exists in the forces?
I would hate to work on a ship with no go areas!!!


I don't think no-go areas would be tolerated by other military personel. I believe it is at an acceptable level and do not worsen combat effectiveness.

It is the civillian sector that concerns people about these criminals (or potential criminals) in the military. Basically something the news would like to exaggerate (though I believe there have been accounts of Mafia related activity being linked to the military), that was back then though, so I am sure they improved this.
 
"a minority" clarify for me what this meant? If you are citing the occassional stereotype that it is African American, Hispanics, etc. only, then I find that very ignorant. If it was me that witnessed it, I wouldn't tolerate it. :wink:

If you mean gang relation as a whole in comparison to non-gang related U.S personell, then I agree. I am not sure if you are talking racial affairs, but that is the common misconception that people spout in U.S.

As for the no go zone turf thing, while not acceptable, it is something I understand. It is pretty much like countries nowadays and past times. I don't like gangs though, most of them ruin their lives. I understand them though, mass poverty causes crime.

Alot of people forget that poverty is what breeds that crap. Social innequality breeds crime.
 
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