Thread: Gangs joining military?????????

ONLY ON KFOX: Gang Activity In The Military
El Paso FBI agents are now focusing on identifying soldiers they believe are affiliated with the Folk Nation gang, one of the most violent gangs in the country.

Agents told KFOX there is an increase in gang activity across the city, including Ft. Bliss.

"We have identified in excess of 800 members that claim allegiance to a gang under Folk Nation. In that we've identified approximately 80 personnel both civilian and military ...who have participated in violent criminal activity," said

Jeremy Francis, a special agent with the El Paso FBI.

"There are some cases that the El Paso Police Department is aware of and that the military officials are aware of," said Cesar Cortez, FBI supervisor with the Criminal Enterprise Division.

The FBI said the leadership in these types of gangs will hand pick people who are young and interested in joining the organization and then encourage them to join the military.

"They will hand pick them, ask them to keep their record clear so that they can enlist in the military and then once they're in the military,they want them to try and gain access to weapons and explosives and basically try to filter that back to the street level," said Francis.

As a result, the El Paso FBI Office has renewed its focus on gangs, especially with thousands of more soldiers who are expected to move to El Paso in the coming years.

"It can be a problem. It has been a problem in other military installations and by trying to take a proactive stance we're trying to keep it from becoming a problem here at Fort Bliss, Las Cruces area," said Cortez.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/7978035/deta ... 42006&ts=H

How's that one grab ya! My mouth is still hanging open!

The FBI said the leadership in these types of gangs will hand pick people who are young and interested in joining the organization and then encourage them to join the military.

"They will hand pick them, ask them to keep their record clear so that they can enlist in the military and then once they're in the military,they want them to try and gain access to weapons and explosives and basically try to filter that back to the street level," said Francis.

This has actually been going on for a long time. Not only are they trying to access military weapons and/or explosives but also for the military training and combat tactics. They have also recruited youngsters to be lawyers. Kept them out of trouble and paid for their education. After they graduate the gang has free legal counsel. These people are not stupid.

That must be the reason I read where the military are seeking recruits without tatoos and other things...said they want a more professional look.

A few months ago MS-13 was found in the military. Apparenty the commander found some pictures of people in uniform flashing gang signs. They were immediatly dismissed. However, one thought came to my mind, how many more are there that have not been caught?

This is nothing new. When I went active duty six years ago and went to Ft. Hood I saw it firsthand.

They do it in one of two ways. Either the gangs send their prospects in to join the reserves so they can get right back to the hustlin' after a few months or they go active so that they can set up shop either on post or in the area of post to recruit more young people and expand the territory.

Plus, they get leadership training, weapons training, a trade that they can support the gang with doing (mechanic, weapons repair, and technical training), education (the G.I. Bill), not to mention a steady paycheck and Veteran Status if they ever have to appear before a judge. It's such a perfect fit that it's horrifying.

On Fort Hood there were clusters of them. They would all arrange to get housing in the same neighborhoods, such as Comanche II and Walker Village (where I lived for awhile). Nobody would mess with them out of fear, so they did what they wanted. Drive-by's, recruiting the kids of older soldiers, break ins, drugs, you name it. And Killeen? HAH. Forget it.

The Army has been forced to turn a blind eye to it out of need for soldiers and the refusal to end the all volunteer military. Until the draft comes back and they can actually afford to turn people away, expect more of it.

Whoa! I really had never heard about this before today. Makes you wonder about all those "friendly fire" incidents, doesn't it?

Doesn't though JJ. Pretty scary stuff...