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Growing up in Albany Park I knew a bit about gangs. Oh I was never in one, had a neighborhood friends who ended up in the Latin Kings when he was in high school. Mainly it was knowing that you didn’t go to River Park on the weekends after dark, or that if certain kids were at the 7-11 playing Street Fighter II you took your quarters and went elsewhere. It was part of the ritual of the neighborhood. Back when I was growing up the gangs were more likely to get into bat fights, spray tags all over and maybe, maybe, someone had a gun. They were bad news, but you didn’t feel like running for your life. I found this documentary shot in Albany Park a few months back. Part 1 and part 2 are here for your viewing pleasure. I warn you, there’s some strong language, but it’s worth your attention if you’re at all curious about how gangs form and perhaps why people join them. What jogged my brain on this topic was reading this article in the Sun-Times.

Jeffrey Stoleson, a Wisconsin corrections official, returned from Iraq in January with photos of gang graffiti on armored vehicles, latrines and buildings. Stoleson, a sergeant with a National Guard unit, was there for nine months to help the Army set up a prison facility outside Baghdad. "I saw Maniac Latin Disciples graffiti out of Chicago," Stoleson said, adding that there was a lot of graffiti for Texas and California gangs, as well as Mexican drug cartels. A Chicago Police officer — who retired from the regular Army and was recently on a tour of Afghanistan in the Army Reserve — said Bagram Air Base was covered with Chicago gang graffiti, everything from the Gangster Disciples’ pitchfork to the Latin Kings’ crown.

Again, back to my limited experience, a lot of the guys I knew who got mixed up in gang life ended up life long criminals (the friend I mentioned before got nearly 30 years for attempted murder from what I’ve heard) or dead. Now you’ve got guys going into the military (likely attracted by the very lucrative signing bonuses and aggressive recruiting in recent years) coming out with tactical training. You hope the discipline of the military knocks some sense into them. Though the pictures from the theater of operations makes that questionable. This isn’t new. White supremecists and right wing nutters have brought back military knowledge for years. Don’t forget that Tim McVeigh was a gulf war vet. The solution? Well, if that article has a laugh line it’s this.

Congress eventually banned members of the military from belonging to street gangs. And last November, the Defense Department added the ban to its rules.

How are you gonna check that? "Are you in a gang?" "No, Sir!" "Oh, Ok, just checkin’." Tattoos are one way, but the military has been revising that policy so as not to exclude new recruits. Deep background checks? Too costly and time-consuming for most recruits. Maybe for special operations or high clearance, but your average grunt? Though your average grunt can come home with enough knowledge and training in military tactics to become something of a warlord on the streets. Criminals are, generally, not very bright, not very well-trained. The illusion of the criminal mastermind is just that, an illusion. But combining US Military training, some of the best in the world, with ties to gang life, that’s nothing but bad news. An insurgency in Englewood? A sniper trap in Austin? It’s the stuff of bad hysterical fiction. I hope.

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