Gangbangers in the US military?

[Machjo]

YouTube - Gang Bangers in the US Military Forces

Old video (2005), but it seems the US military suffers from a similar recruitment problem as Canada's when I was in, which is that it seems to attract many dangerous individuals.

 

[CDNBear]

Actually it's not that similar to our system at all.

As for "dangerous" individuals in our military. Well d'uh, that's the point. We aren't trained to be wet nurses.

 

[Machjo]

I was in the military for a short time and no, not everyone there was part crazy. But there enough in my own platoon. One had joined to get training to train the freemen. Many others were just plain racist by their use of racist terminology. Again, not all, but enough.

One NCO was a collector of Nazi-era paraphernalia. While that alone is not proof of racism, it does raise eyebrows within the context of an environent in which there is considerable racism around him, and maybe he wasn't racist.

Another soldier outside our platoon had Neo-Nazi tatoos, though to be fair I should mention his immediat superior was black.

And yes, there were some blacks in the military too, and no, not all were racist, but the level of racism was still far higher than anything I'd encountered outside the military.

I should point out too that this was well over a decade ago, and so things may have improved sinse. I'm just saying though that this is the same kind of problem and, unless it's been uprooted in the last decade (and it may very well ahve been), then Canada faces the same problem.

 

[Machjo]

An even better video here:

YouTube - School For LA Gangsters - US Military

 

[CDNBear]

I was in the military for a short time and no, not everyone there was part crazy. But there enough in my own platoon. One had joined to get training to train the freemen. Many others were just plain racist by their use of racist terminology. Again, not all, but enough.

I was in the Army for almost 6 years, retired as a Sgt. I'm Native, with my Clan symbol tatooed right on my arm. You don't think I felt a little racism once in a while? I can assure you Idid. But I'll tell you this, I never once felt that the man next to me would leave me, when the sh!t hit the fan.

One NCO was a collector of Nazi-era paraphernalia. While that alone is not proof of racism, it does raise eyebrows within the context of an environent in which there is considerable racism around him, and maybe he wasn't racist.

Then why mention it? I collect baseball caps, I don't play baseball.

Another soldier outside our platoon had Neo-Nazi tatoos, though to be fair I should mention his immediat superior was black.

That's great, my immediate superior was of German ancestry, his father was a Nazi Tank Commander. He had a full back tat of the German Weirmacht.

And yes, there were some blacks in the military too, and no, not all were racist, but the level of racism was still far higher than anything I'd encountered outside the military.

That's because you're dealing with people in a microcosm.

I should point out too that this was well over a decade ago, and so things may have improved sinse. I'm just saying though that this is the same kind of problem and, unless it's been uprooted in the last decade (and it may very well ahve been), then Canada faces the same problem.

You face the same problem in all recruitment. Gang affiliation, isn't a mental condition. It's not going to show up in the psych tests. You have a job, like being a Soldier, that requires a set criteria to even remotely consider that line of work. You are going to attract that portion of the general public that has an "A" type personality. This comes with all sorts of bagage, it's hard to catch all of it at the recruitment stage. Not to mention, they don't want to weed out all the semi sane, we make excellent Troopers.

 

[gerryh]

I had heard complaints a few years back the the Canadian military was turning into a bunch of "pansies".... they were "weeding out" too many, and lowering their 'standards" with who they did accept.

 

[Machjo]

CDNBear, that's a fair assessment, and I certainly agree that's it's not an easy job for any military. And I'm sure every army recruiter in the world faces the same problem. On the one hand, it wants to attract the right personality to become a soldier and not just someone trying to escape an economic recession who'll just be in for the short haul. On the other hand, it's natural that the military as a career will attract nationalist, militarist, racist, and other types too. The trick then is to try somehow to filter them out, and I agree that it's a tough task and that we can't blame the military when some such persons sneak in as long as the military has made a reasonable effort to root them out.

However, though I don't necessarily blame the military for attracting such people, since that's not the military's fault, but rather jsut the nature of the beast, I also belive that the government ought to be aware of this as a potential limitation on a national military force when fighting abroad. We all remember the incident in Somalia years back.

 

[CDNBear]

I had heard complaints a few years back the the Canadian military was turning into a bunch of "pansies".... they were "weeding out" too many, and lowering their 'standards" with who they did accept.

Yep...right after the purge caused by the cries from the public over hazing.

CDNBear, that's a fair assessment, and I certainly agree that's it's not an easy job for any military. And I'm sure every army recruiter in the world faces the same problem. On the one hand, it wants to attract the right personality to become a soldier and not just someone trying to escape an economic recession who'll just be in for the short haul. On the other hand, it's natural that the military as a career will attract nationalist, militarist, racist, and other types too. The trick then is to try somehow to filter them out, and I agree that it's a tough task and that we can't blame the military when some such persons sneak in as long as the military has made a reasonable effort to root them out.

However, though I don't necessarily blame the military for attracting such people, since that's not the military's fault, but rather jsut the nature of the beast, I also belive that the government ought to be aware of this as a potential limitation on a national military force when fighting abroad. We all remember the incident in Somalia years back.

Agreed,

 

[ironsides]

Due to the recession, the United States is not having any problems getting the necessary recruits to maintain it's military at full strength. You will always have some sort of racism, but the troops themselves pretty much deal with it. By the time a recruit leaves boot camp/basic training it has been pretty much purged out of their system. Last thing in the world is not to be able to trust the person to your right or left. Petty problems at home just become such a minor issue when your put in harms way.

 

[FUBAR]

Due to the recession, the United States is not having any problems getting the necessary recruits to maintain it's military at full strength. You will always have some sort of racism, but the troops themselves pretty much deal with it. By the time a recruit leaves boot camp/basic training it has been pretty much purged out of their system. Last thing in the world is not to be able to trust the person to your right or left. Petty problems at home just become such a minor issue when your put in harms way.

Very true. And it is pretty hard being an openly active racist when everybody is armed and not always in front of you. 8O

 

[Johnnny]

Do they attack each other??, because im not sure that nortenos and MS13 are 100% friends??? I have no clue

 

[ironsides]

Last thing in the world you want to be is a openly active racist in combat. Those gangs pretty much forget their gang affiliations while in the service, hopefully when they get out some of them get back into what we call acceptable society. I'm not saying there were no problems when I was in, but if a problem acme up it was swiftly dealt with legally.