Gays? No way. But Gangs? Sure!
As we all know, the US Army has lowered it’s acceptance standards in order to keep up with recruitment goals. An unpopular, bloody war is sure to make recruitment difficult, and because of this, the Army has chosen to turn a blind eye to certain “moral” character issues, granting these recruits waivers.
A study by the Baltimore Sun found “a significant increase in the number of recruits with what the Army terms ’serious criminal misconduct’ in their background” — a category that includes “aggravated assault, robbery, vehicular manslaughter, receiving stolen property and making terrorist threats.”
Now, it seems, there may be some backlash from the Army failing to do it’s homework on some recruits, in the everlasting quest to keep up with it’s recruiting goals.
From Stars and Stripes:
U.S. criminal gangs have gained a foothold in the U.S. military and are using overseas deployments to spread tentacles around the globe, according to the FBI.
FBI gang investigator Jennifer Simon said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes this week that gang members have been documented on or near U.S. military bases in Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Iraq.
“It’s no secret that gang members are prevalent in the armed forces, including internationally,” Simon said.
The article continues:
Scott Barfield, a former Defense Department gang detective at 2nd Cav’s last duty station, Fort Lewis, Wash., told the Sun-Times earlier this year that he had identified more than 300 soldiers at the base as gang members.“I think that’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
There are no official statistics on gang membership in the military, but some experts have estimated that 1 percent to 2 percent of the U.S. military are gang members, FBI gang investigator Simon said. That compares with just 0.02 percent of the U.S. population believed to be gang members, she wrote.
Although there are no numbers to back it up, Simon believes gang member presence in the U.S. military is increasing.
Gang-related activity in the military is highly underreported, and the Army is the only branch of the military that collects gang-related statistics, she wrote.
“It’s often in the military’s best interest to keep these incidents quiet, given low recruitment numbers and recent negative publicity. The relaxation of recruiting standards, recruiter misconduct and the military’s lack of enforcement (gang membership is not prohibited in the Army) have compounded the problem and allowed gang member presence in the military to proliferate,” Simon said.
Here is some more info on the gangs mentioned in the article:
Don’t believe everything you’re told to think-please. My dad- the ultimate straight shooter and unable to lie- is also a retired AF Colonel who is providing active duty training services at this time, maintains that military standards are higher than ever. In addition, my 16 year old daughter, who tested 1350 on the SAT in 8th grade, is headed for the AF Academy. Gang members- largely lazy, self-absorbed, instant gratification focused, and unable to extend onthe behalf of another for a nanosecond (which is why they are gang members inthe first place) wouldn’t last in the service. Think about it- minus the compelling influences of say, Jon Stewart or Rosie O’Donnell.
First of all, I don’t believe what that I’m “told to think.” I take a collection articles and statements from Military and Non-Military sources and then I form my own beliefs based on what I read.
You’ll note that my post did not say anything about there not being bright and very talented individuals that are serving in the US Armed Forces. Also, while I respect your belief in your father, you’ll also note that this post specifically addressed the US Army.
The bottom line is, there are cold hard facts that the Army has lowered it’s standards.
At the end of 2005, the Defense Department released DoD Instruction 1145.01, which doubles the amount of recruits with Category IV (10-30%) aptitude test scores that are allowed to be accepted. A report commissioned by the DoD itself showed a clear relationship between the test scores and field performance: The higher the score on the aptitude test, the better the performance in the field. The full study can be found here
As to your assertion that gang members “wouldn’t last in the service,” I didn’t get information on gangs in the military from Jon Stewart or Rosie O’Donnell. The information came directly from the FBI report “Gang-Related Activity in the US Armed Forces Increasing.”
The report states that members of almost every major gang in the US have been identified on US Military bases, both domestically and abroad and goes on to detail many of these cases. The report also goes on to document some of the consequences of the activity, both to the military itself and to domestic crime.
Even the Army has admitted to gang activity inside of it’s ranks, though it has done it’s best to minimize those reports. The Army’s report can be found here.
To catergorize gang members as “largely lazy, self-absorbed, instant gratification focused, and unable to extend onthe behalf of another for a nanosecond” is ignorant and shows how little you understand the complexity of gangs and gang members. No matter the mental or physical condition of these gang members, the Army CANNOT refuse to let someone in because of gang affiliation and because of the extremely low recruitment rates, gang members are admitted. In joining the military, gang members do not drop their affiliation. A gang becomes someone’s family and they live their lives by it’s members and rules. In spreading the US Army around the globe we are also spreading our gangs and that is just the facts.