Foreword
Preface
List of Acronyms
1 The History of Gangs and the Military Connection
2 The Emergence of Gangs in the Military
3 Contemporary Issues with Military Gangs
4 Prohibitions and Prevention Measures
5 Gangs with Members in the Military
6 Military-Trained Gang Members in Civilian Communities
Afterword: When Gangs and the U.S. Military Collide
Carter F. Smith, PhD, is a Lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. Carter is a retired Army Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Command Special Agent, and was the inaugural team chief for the Army’s first and most consistently operating Gang & Extremist investigations team. Carter has provided training on Gangs and their impact on the community to police and community leaders throughout the country. His academic publications include such topics as the dangers of spontaneous gang formation, military-trained gang members, gangs and their use of technology, and gang members in colleges and universalities. He was a co-author or author of Private Security Today, Gangs, and Introduction to Gangs. He has been interviewed about gangs by several national as well as regional and local television, print, internet and radio news sources, and has appeared twice in the History Channel’s Gangland series. He was a founding, and still serving, board member of the Tennessee Gang Investigators Association, a member organization of the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations. In 1995, he was a recipient of the U.S. Army CID Command Special Agent of the Year award, and is a three-time recipient of the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award of the National Gang Crime Research Center.
Smith, a special agent for the Army Criminal Investigations
Division, examines the roles played by member of street gangs,
outlaw motorcycle gangs, and domestic extremists with military
training and both on and off active duty and the crimes they
committed in this detailed study. The biggest obstacle
investigators face, Smith observes, is denial of this reality by
military and police officials despite numerous sightings of gang
tattoos and graffiti on military bases. Although gang members
convicted of crimes should not technically be recruited by the
military, they can often enter by hiding their histories or by
securing special waivers. The real dangers, says Smith, are the
soldiers’ divided loyalties and the training they’ve experienced in
discipline, violence, and weaponry, skills that are equally useful
in criminal gang actions when they return to their home
territories. There are lot of statistics and crime listings to wade
through, but Smith presents a convincing case for identifying these
gang members and developing communication between military and
civilian police to manage their return to civilian life.
*Booklist*
Gangs and the Military is an up close and comprehensive look at a
unique issue that has been plaguing law enforcement officials as
well as the nation’s armed services, the subject of gangs in the
military. This is a complex and constantly evolving dilemma and the
book’s author, Carter Smith, gives the reader a front row seat as
he takes the cover off of the situation and details the various
components of what has become a threat to national security.
Supported by a wide array of research and information from military
and law enforcement experts alike, Gangs and the Military is a
primer and must read for anyone concerned with the gang problem in
America and its critical intrusion into our nation’s military.
Kudos to Carter for all of the work he put into this book.
*Tony Moreno, Retired LAPD detective, author of Lessons from a Gang
Cop (gangcop.com) and Cops in America: Dealing with the Ferguson
Effect*
Carter has created a book that is exceptional for those in law
enforcement, military, or in the civilian community. His extensive
knowledge in the field of gangs shines through in his literature
and teachings. The information contained in this book covers a wide
variety of topics, including a historical introduction into early
gangs, to showing how various wars have impacted and changed the
gang culture, through updated information on modern day street
gangs. This book also lists the escalating concern caused by
military trained gang members, and the increasing threats of
Domestic Terrorists in our communities. This well written book is a
definite must read!
*Dave Harris, Boise Police Department Gang Unit; Vice President,
Northwest Gang Investigators Association*
Carter Smith begins at the “beginning” and breaks down gang history
in a brief and concise manner. He brings new light to the topic by
covering material and groups that have not been “done to death”.
The inclusion of real-life conversations and experiences
successfully build the credibility of the text and demonstrate
lessons to be learned for investigators. What is important when
covering the topic of gangs is the ability to take the history and
behavior and apply it in a way that will be relevant to the reader.
That is what makes this book different then all the other gang
books out there, and why this is really good stuff!
*Tony Kail, former law enforcement officer; author of several books
including A Cop’s Guide to Occult Investigations*
Carter Smith has delved into the world of gangs and the military in
such a way as to send the reader on a crash course about the
subject. Not only does he address the societal impact of gangs in
America and where they came from, he goes behind the military
curtain to talk about gang members who become soldiers, sailors and
airmen, and how their training may impact crime conditions on the
streets of our nation when they leave the military. He provides
real world examples of how gangs in the military, as well as
military gang members, have influenced a culture held in high
esteem by the public, but blemished by the gang crime problem
regardless. This is a well-researched and written book that would
benefit for all.
*Robert H. Stasch, Gang Specialist, Law Enforcement Training
Consultants, Ltd.*
For anyone interested in understanding the insidious nature of
criminal gang and extremist infiltration of the armed forces in
America, this book is a must-read. The author not only provides a
comprehensive and thorough examination of the history of gangs in
the U.S., but also set forth clearly articulated evidence of the
infiltration of the gangster mentality and its associated criminal
influence within our nation's military branches.
*Christopher Grant, National Native American Gang Specialist*
This is a very interesting and eye opening book! Most people will
be surprised at how recently admissions of gangs in the military
has been and how long it took to get policies in place. Our society
has a problem with people in charge admitting to gang issues and
without those admissions and the actions that accompany them, the
problem gets much worse. The interesting part of gang
investigations is that there are always new things to learn. I've
always known that gangs had members in the military or had former
military members in their ranks but I did not realize how long it
has been going on. I always teach that gangs are not a new
phenomenon and this book helps highlight that. I personally know
Carter Smith and Hunter Glass (highlighted in the book), and both
are outstanding in their fields. This problem is not going away and
hopefully this book will help awaken some who still hide their
heads in the sand and hope gangs just go away.
*Jim Quick, president, Tennessee Gang Investigators
Association*
Carter spotted the problem of gang members with military training
years ago – here is the evidence! The book is well researched, very
comprehensive and well proven. I think it will be a useful
contribution. Well done!
*Simon Harding, D. Prof. University Lecturer at Middlesex
University; author of The Street Casino: Survival in Violent Street
Gangs*
I predict that Carter F. Smith's book, Gangs and the Military:
Gangsters, Bikers, and Terrorists with Military Training, will
become the "Bible" in the genre of understanding gang culture in
America. Throughout he breaks down the theory, types, and
definition of gangs, bikers and terrorists and how they impact the
impact the community and workforce. What I found especially
fascinating was his historical analysis of gangs through the
nation's war years (Revolutionary- First Gulf War,
1990-94); it was illuminating to see that gang culture, in some
form, has plagued government authorities since the
post-Revolutionary War era in much the same manner that they plague
investigators and communities today. As a former street
investigator I can attest to the value of researching and reporting
on a new and controversial topic in the gang investigative
hemisphere. In crisp, precise language Smith shows how the
various levels of military command failed to heed the obvious
warning signs of a gang presence on military installations, and how
this failure followed a trend which allowed for the spread of gangs
throughout the military and, as Dr. Smith so aptly points out,
led to the threat of military trained gang members unleashed on
unsuspecting American cities once their enlistment was over.
In conclusion I feel this work, has greatly expanded the
literary knowledge of gang investigators with this seminal
work. It is a gem!
*Ron Stallworth, Sgt., Ret., Former Gang Intelligence Coordinator,
Utah Department of Public Safety*
Carter Smith has provided an excellent examination of issues so
often missed, and more often misunderstood. He provides the reader
with a fantastic historical perspective which offers a wonderful
lead into an analysis of the issues of military training and
service for gang members. These are extremely important cautionary
notes that the reader should take the time to examine in detail,
before considering the consequences of having military-trained gang
members moving back to civilian communities. In this book, Carter
Smith looks at some of the key questions arising from gang studies
in the 21st century.
*Andrew J. Bain, PhD, Director of Criminal Justice Studies,
University of Mount Union, Ohio, Co-author of Outlaw Motorcycle
Gangs: A Theoretical Perspective (2015), and co-editor of Outlaw
Motorcycle Gangs: International Perspectives (2017)*
Gangs and security threat groups are a hidden presence in the
military. Often gangsters and extremists flee their
neighborhood for military discipline and a better life. In
other cases the gangsters bring their criminal lifestyle to the
military and gain skills for furthering their gangs. This is
a battle for primary loyalties. When the gang loyalty
prevails, gangsters bring crime to military bases and military
skills to the gang. Gangs and the Military gives a hard
look at the issues influencing gang proliferation.
*John P. Sullivan, PhD, Member Scientific Advisory Board, Global
Observatory on Transnational Criminal Networks and Senior Fellow,
Small Wars Journal - El Centro*
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