The following is a response from an official with the Department of Defense regarding the I-Team's Military Gangs story:
The Department of Defense does not believe it has a problem with criminal gangs among its ranks. Although the Department's statistics do not support the conclusion that gang problems in the military are pervasive or significantly on the rise, anything that negatively affects readiness or undermines military values is of concern. The Department is working closely with its criminal investigative agencies and the FBI to ensure that gang activity in the military is aggressively investigated and appropriately prosecuted and that new accessions are rigorously screened to deny entry to those who do not renounce participation in criminal gangs and activities. Coordination with the FBI is leading to efforts to better screen accessions for gang affiliation by means of better access to FBI gang databases.
