| Washington state base, community wrestle with gangs |
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Community activists and crime investigators know soldiers at Fort Lewis have been involved in gangs.
Post officials know that, too. What they don’t agree on is whether those troops are still gangbanging.
Col. Katherine Miller, provost marshal for the base, said commanders have seen a few instances of minor gang activities over the years, but they have not had any major incidents on or off base.
Dennis Turner, a former gangster who counsels Seattle-area youth, said those investigators aren’t looking hard enough.
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| In Europe, gang activities more likely seen off base |
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A 1st Armored Division soldier in Germany flashing a gang sign while on guard
duty.
Gangster Disciples graffiti scrawled near the helipad on Leighton Barracks in
Würzburg, Germany.
Wine glasses decorated with Gangster Disciples symbols that soldiers had made
at a German-American festival.
The pictures are in a 2006 PowerPoint presentation on criminal street gangs
in the military by Kenneth Ferguson Kelly, a former military police investigator
in Germany. Stars and Stripes obtained a copy of the presentation.
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| Some gossip, but few signs of gangs in Pacific |
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They’ve heard occasional rumors, seen graffiti or read a story about someone getting beat up or worse.
But firsthand knowledge of real gang activity in the military is sparse in the Pacific, according to a Stars and Stripes survey.
More than 60 servicemembers in Japan, Okinawa and South Korea were interviewed on the topic.
Some said they heard gossip about gangs, including on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk at Yokosuka Naval Base. Others say they knew former gang members who joined up to get away the from gang lifestyle. |
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| Rare beating with ties to Crips rocks Yokosuka in 2005 |
Military officials say they are carefully monitoring gang
activity in the services and don’t see any signs of an upswing of gang members
among the ranks.
Officials are aware of law enforcement reports and an Army Criminal
Investigation Command report distributed late last year showing that
gang-related incidents among soldiers nearly tripled from fiscal 2005 to fiscal
2006. |
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Photo by Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S
Streets of the Honch outside Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan is a common hang out spot for sailors in their off time. |
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Photo by Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S
Bar row outside Yokota Air Base, Japan is a common hang out spot for Airmen in their off time.
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