Affiliation with a gang isn't a crime under military law

By Sandra Jontz and Bryan Mitchell, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, December 8, 2006

Affiliation with a gang doesn’t automatically keep a member or potential recruit out of the military, and it isn’t a crime under military law, according to Pentagon officials.

“Consistent with First Amendment values, mere affiliation with, or having a tattoo representative of, a street gang does not automatically prevent service in the armed forces,” David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in an Aug. 26 letter to the ABC News show “Primetime,” supplied by the military Thursday to Stars and Stripes.

“But it is considered in the context of the whole person. Of course, engagement in criminal activity, whether or not it is associated with a gang, directly compromises one’s eligibility to serve in the military,” Chu wrote.

The Pentagon mandates that “military personnel must reject participation in organizations that espouse supremacist causes; attempt to create illegal discrimination based on race, creed, color, sex, religion or national origin; advocate the use of force or violence; or otherwise engage in efforts to deprive individuals of their civil rights,” Chu said, citing a Department of Defense directive.

<more>

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42031

...So we decided to train our own, too?

:shrug: