Gangs in the Military
Part 2 of a 2 part series based on the upcoming book Gangster Soldiers: A New Threat Invading the Streets of America by Hunter Glass and Lou Savelli
After listening to Kate’s story about gang life I just had to ask the question as to how old she was when she was first introduced to this lifestyle. To my amazement she replied “ten”. I asked if she meant she joined at ten or was that when she first heard about it. “I was ten when I first heard about it but I didn’t get ‘jumped in’ until later,” she said. I asked what ‘jumped in’ meant. She explained that it’s a term used by all gangs to describe the initiation process of being physically beaten by several members of your gang AKA ‘set’. This is done as a right of passage and is the most common act for entry into a gang.
I asked her where did this take place and she responded, “Italy”. Slightly befuddled I asked her what she meant by Italy. She stated that her stepfather had been stationed at Aviano, Air Force Base in Italy in the early 90’s. She said it was there that she became a gang member after being Jumped In by several military dependants originally from California. So there were no actual Air Force personnel involved I asked. Kate stated that there were none when she got jumped in but that she later met active duty military that were gang members. She went on to say that the gangs were plentiful in Italy. After Italy and before coming to Fayetteville Kate lived in Arkansas. According to Kate it was in Arkansas that she became entrenched in the gang life. Upon coming to Fayetteville she said it was not long before the gangs found her. I asked her if she meant she found the gangs and she replied no. Kate said that soon after she arrived and started school another girl noticed her Pitchfork brand. They began to speak and Kate realized that this young lady knew a good bit of Gang Knowledge. She told Kate that she could introduce her to others in the Fayetteville area. She quickly adapted back into the gang life.
Our Paths would cross for the next five years. Many times when Kate would be arrested she would tell my fellow officers that she was my daughter. She was an invaluable source of information about gangs and the gang life. It was because of my association with Kate that gave me the edge over others when it came to understanding the life of gang members. Many times she would try to leave the life but as soon as things got hard she was right back in it. Every time she returned to the life her gang behavior accelerated. In 1998 Kate’s gang life reached its pentacle when she was involved in the murders of two young females and the kidnapping and attempted murder of another woman. The crimes were committed as a right of passage for the gang. Kate and her fellow gang members reaped the full weight of the law as she and two others would receive life sentences and the rest slightly less.
Sitting on Death Row Kate was receiving a solid amount of mail. In the state of North Carolina all inmate mail is routinely checked for anything of importance. The Captain in charge of Intelligence for the North Carolina Department of Corrections contacted me in reference to a letter he felt was of importance. The letter was from a middle age man living in a rental house not far from Ft. Bragg. In the letter he seemed to be lashing out at Kate and what had happened to her. He bragged about how he had warned her not to hang out with pretend gang members and that she should have known better. He went on to boast about how he was the real thing and a high ranking gang member. I attempted to make contact with this subject but to no avail. Upon researching the subject I discovered that he was an active duty soldier with the rank of Sergeant First Class.
I was working very close with Military Police Investigations (MPI) at the time so I brought the information to them. They in turn passed the report up their chain where it just died. After receiving no updates on the information I chalked it up to getting lost in the mix. Over the next few months I would have this happen over and over. I realized that any information dealing with gangs and active duty soldiers would simply disappear after leaving the office of MPI.
One day a senior member of our SWAT team entered my office and handed me an informational report in reference to his observation and subsequent conversation with a US Army Staff Sergeant at a local indoor range and gun shop. The officer had started small talk with the soldier after he noticed several SKS and AK47’s along with what he described as a suspicious amount of ammunition. The soldier stated that he was a high ranking officer with the Gangster Disciples and that he was just out practicing. Armed with this information I quickly advised the military of the situation. Again once it was past the MPI office the information seemed to be sucked into a black hole.
After several more incidents passed and I sat down with my friend who was also the Non Commissioned Officer In Charge (NCOIC) of the Ft. Bragg MPI Office. I just could not understand why this issue was taken with zeal by those at MPI but once it passed their office it would lose all momentum. He explained that although he thoroughly agreed with me, the rest of the Army just didn’t care. He stated that they are in total denial when it came to the topic of Gangs in the Military. How Sad!!!
