LA street gangs infiltrate US army: The
Crips and the Bloods have
( Weekly Journal, The ) July 27, 1995
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LA street gangs infiltrate US army: The Crips
and the Bloods have been. uncovered within
the US military, and linked to drive-by
shootings and organised drug trafficking.
Vivienne Francis and Gregory Vistica
investigate ALLEN KING and his three children - aged
18-months and four and seven years old - were
hacked to death by a man who believed King
had told the police about a crack house he
operated. A gang killing in an American
inner-city ghetto? No. These murders took
place on an American army base and their
killer was an army specialist.

According to a special investigation in
American magazine Newsweek, street gang
activity, once confined to places like
South-Central Los Angeles, Chicago and New
York, has reared its ugly head in the US
military.

Notorious LA street gangs such as the Crips,
the Bloods and Chicago' s Folk Gangsters are
now active in all four branches of the armed
services and at more than 50 military bases
around the United States.

Although most gang crimes - which include
drug trafficking, robbery, assault and at
least 10 murders to date - have taken place
off-duty and off base, there are signs that
the problem is growing.

Army-enlisted men have been photographed
flashing gang signs in the middle of the Gulf
War. Some gang members have also staked out
their "turf" on aircraft carriers at sea, and
the navy was recently forced to build a wall,
1,000 foot long, to protect residents of one
of its housing complexes in California after
a spate of drive-by shootings.

So far, the gang-related activities - fights,
shootings, small drug trafficking - have been
relatively minor crimes, but some
investigators fear notorious gangs, like the
Crips, have a bigger goal in mind.

According to Newsweek, the US Justice
Department produced a report in 1994 that
warned some gangs had access to grenades,
[Image] machine guns, rocket launchers and military
explosives. It added that members who are or
have been in the services are teaching others
military tactics, and that "with arms,
weapons proficiency and tactics, some street
gangs now have the ability to effectively
engage in terrorist activities" .

Newsweek believes "the US military is
inevitably affected by all the problems of
society at large - including the spread of
gang-related crime and violence". Though they
add "it is still surprising that the
military, supposedly a bastion of good order,
is being shaken by gang activity in the
ranks".

"The navy doesn't like to admit [its gang
problem]," Sergeant Wes McBride of the Los
Angeles Police Department, himself a former
marine, told the magazine, "because it
destroyed the image of discipline." But
Newsweek said it had obtained confidential
documents suggesting that the forces were
taking steps to control the problem.

It said that the commander of the navy's
Pacific Fleet, which supervises navy bases
all along the West Coast, warned commanders
about rising gang four years ago, and the
investigative Service had begun a
computerised system to report and track
gang-related incidents.

In addition, the army and air force manuals
warn: "The influence of gangs appears to be
growing and the frequency of gang violence
related to the USAF will likely increase.
There is no such thing as a `wannabee' . If a
person wants to be a gang member, acts and
dresses like a gang member, he is a gang
member and just as dangerous."

The manual now also lists descriptions of
gang hand signs and gang colours to help
criminal investigators spot covert gang
activity.

Ethnic NewsWatch ) SoftLine Information,
Inc., Stamford, CT

Gregory Francis, Vivienne; Vistica, LA street
gangs infiltrate US army: The Crips and the
Bloods have., Weekly Journal, The,
07-27-1995, pp PG.