Gangs and the MilitaryGangs and the MilitaryPresented at

Northwest Gang Investigators AssociationOctober 2007

Al Valdez, Ph.D. UCI & Carter F. Smith, APSU

The views expressed in this presentation The views expressed in this presentation are those of the presenters and do not are those of the presenters and do not

reflect the official policy or position of the reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Department of the Army, Department of

Defense, or the U.S. Government.Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Compiled from the listed references by the Gangfighters

Network – www.Gangfighters.net

3G23G2Based on the coining and development

of the phrase Third Generation Street Gangs by John P. Sullivan and Dr. Robert Bunker

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Third Generation Street GangsThird Generation Street Gangs

• Some gangs evolve/transition through three generations–Turf gangs–Market-oriented drug gangs–Mix of political and mercenary elements

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Three factors determine Three factors determine evolutionary potentialevolutionary potential

• Politicization

• Internationalization

• Sophistication

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Characteristics of Characteristics of Street Gang GenerationsStreet Gang Generations

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First Generation GangsFirst Generation Gangs

• Traditional street gangs with a turf orientation • Operate at the lower end of extreme societal

violence• Loose leadership • Focus their attention on turf protection and gang

loyalty within their immediate environs • Criminal enterprise - largely opportunistic and

local• Limited in political scope and sophistication

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Second Generation GangsSecond Generation Gangs

• Engaged in business• Entrepreneurial and drug-centered• Protect markets and use violence to control their

competition• Have a broader, market focused, sometimes overtly

political agenda • Operate in a broader spatial or geographic area. • Operations sometimes involve multi-state and even

international areas. Tendency for centralized leadership and sophisticated operations for market protection places them in the center of the range of politicization, internationalization and sophistication

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Third Generation GangsThird Generation Gangs

• Evolved political aims• Operate or aspire to operate globally • Use sophistication to garner power, aid financial

acquisition and engage in mercenary-type activities

• Most third generation gangs have been primarily mercenary in orientation; yet, in some cases they have sought to further their own political and social objectives

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Potential Potential Third Generation Gangs:Third Generation Gangs:

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Third generation gang activity Third generation gang activity

Can lead to:• Control of parts of targeted counties or

subregions within a country • Creation of enclaves that are essentially para-

states, or • Taking either indirect or direct control of an

entire state and establishing a criminal, narco-state―or a narco-criminal state

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Third Generation GangsThird Generation Gangs

• Can generate the economic and military power to equal or better that of many nation-states.

• Have a propensity for indiscriminate violence, intimidation, coercion, transcending borders, and targeting nation-states

• Pose significant national security threats • Are both a regional and transnational gang

phenomenon

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Military/Federal Gang Laws & Military/Federal Gang Laws & RegulationsRegulations

• AR 600-20 (Army Command Policy)• DOD Directive 1325.6 (Guidelines for

Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces)

• DA Pamphlet 600–15 (Extremist Activities)

• Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

• Various States’ Gang/Terrorism laws

Gangs and the MilitaryGangs and the Military