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Irregular Army: How the War on Terror Brought Neo-Nazis, Gang Members and Criminals into the US Military
Since the launch of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars-now the longest wars in American history-the US military has struggled to recruit troops. It has responded, as Matt Kennard's explosive investigative report makes clear, by opening its doors to neo-Nazis, white supremacists, gang members, criminals of all stripes, the overweight, and the mentally ill. Based on several years of reporting, Irregular Army includes extensive interviews with extremist veterans and leaders of far-right hate groups-who spoke openly of their eagerness to have their followers acquire military training for a coming domestic race war. As a report commissioned by the Department of Defense itself put it, "Effectively, the military has a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy pertaining to extremism."
Irregular Army connects some of the War on Terror's worst crimes to this opening-up of the US military. With millions of veterans now back in the US and domestic extremism on the rise, Kennard's book is a stark warning about potential dangers facing Americans-from their own soldiers.
Irregular Army connects some of the War on Terror's worst crimes to this opening-up of the US military. With millions of veterans now back in the US and domestic extremism on the rise, Kennard's book is a stark warning about potential dangers facing Americans-from their own soldiers.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 19, 2017
"Important" is the word that comes to mind here. Post-9/11, the US military was so desperate for recruits, they relaxed their standards to an alarming degree--letting in avowed racists, violent gangsters, and others who would have been blocked from service in years past.
But this book isn't just about criminals in the armed forces, it's also about the general problems faced by current and former soldiers, including the poor mental and physical health of today's servicepeople, the grim prospects for ex-soldiers, and predatory recruiting practices, especially among minority students.
But this book isn't just about criminals in the armed forces, it's also about the general problems faced by current and former soldiers, including the poor mental and physical health of today's servicepeople, the grim prospects for ex-soldiers, and predatory recruiting practices, especially among minority students.
December 30, 2012
Fantastic research/reporting, misleading subtitle and cover photo. Kennard examines the ways in which fighting two wars with a volunteer force requires the loosening of standards for recruitment. From an initial focus on neo-Nazis, gang members, and other extremists among enlisted men and women, the author moves on to mental illness, indifferent treatment of veterans, and the struggle of gays and lesbians to serve their country. Quite well-written for this sort of thing, I can recommend it to people of all political stripes for its equanimity and treatment of a subject that will make one very upset, in the finest muckraking tradition.
February 28, 2017
The author discusses efforts and motives of down-sizing the US military and privatizing many of its functions to include the use of mercenaries. Also addressed is the recruitment efforts of segments of the population not actively recruited in normal times. It is a thought provoking read.
September 5, 2018
This is an odd, mixed bag of a book. On the one hand, Kennard's reporting on how the US military allows actively organized white supremacists in their ranks is really stellar. However, the rest of the book is about how an "Irregular Army" was put together in the mid 00s by lowering recruitment standards across the board, which Kennard only manages to flip into a convincing criticism of US imperial projects about half of the time. The other standout chapters discuss how the War on Terror feeds into mental health and substance abuse problems because of the psychological impact of conflict and how the military is allowed to prey on minors in high schools to meet recruitment goals. But the chapters about felons, people who are obese, and gang members feature a lot of pearl clutching about the declining efficacy of the military that is weird coming from an ostensibly left-wing book critiquing US imperialism.
September 28, 2012
Crazy story...makes you really not wanna be a part of the US military. Stories of predatory recruiting, veteran benefits not filled, lower standards...nothing to be proud of as an American or more especially as a soldier. When war requires more soldiers, they'll find a way to fill 'em: upping the age limit to 42, lowering IQ, no high school diploma needed, bias towards recruiting the poor and minorities. A must read for anyone considering the military!
February 2, 2013
Informative
September 4, 2024
Very troubling if the problem is as widespread as Kennard writes. Recent periods of high military recruitment needs (ie. The War on Terror) tend to see standards loosen and some dangerous recruits that make it through come back with military training and strengthened ideologies
February 29, 2016
This was a fascinating, disturbing read. Journalist Matt Kennard traces a number of huge problems with the U.S. military to the lowering of enlistment standards by Donald Rumsfeld during the administration of George W. Bush. In order to keep enlistment up during the invasion of Iraq and the war on terror, the Bush administration began allowing neo-nazis and gang members to join, something that had been illegal, at least on paper, before. Commanders and units turned a blind eye to them, despite neo-nazis, KKK members, and gang members carrying out war crimes against Iraqi and middle eastern civilians. This also led to the increasing spike of assaults and rapes against women in the military as well as creating a national security crisis - rightwing extremists and gang members receiving military training to bring back to the streets of the United States, where they can train their companions in tactics and operations. He also documents the decline of physical fitness standards, as well as the illegal recruitment of underage high schoolers and the manipulation of desperate immigrants through the offer of a green card in exchange for military service. A harrowing account of some disturbing trends in our military.
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August 3, 2015This book is an important round-up of the degradation of intake policy in the U.S. Armed forces.
The policy critique is sharp. There is some incoherence in certain decisions, such as holding up white supremacists, drug cartels, and "gangs" as equivalent toxicities. I am not down with the fat-shaming that comes in along with the pointed critique of fast food corporations' capture of the overseas military market. And all this progressivism has to be flipped over in the discussion of DADT.
Still, a relevant and often shocking read, tending to the spaces left open in the voluminousness of Medsgar's The Burglary and Erikson's Malazan imperial military fantasy.
The policy critique is sharp. There is some incoherence in certain decisions, such as holding up white supremacists, drug cartels, and "gangs" as equivalent toxicities. I am not down with the fat-shaming that comes in along with the pointed critique of fast food corporations' capture of the overseas military market. And all this progressivism has to be flipped over in the discussion of DADT.
Still, a relevant and often shocking read, tending to the spaces left open in the voluminousness of Medsgar's The Burglary and Erikson's Malazan imperial military fantasy.
July 3, 2016
Excellent piece of research on how the relaxation of standards for accepting individuals into the American army, in order to meet the recruitment goals needed to facilitate the war on terror, has significantly impacted the quality of the army.
Before reading, I was under the impression that the book was going to uncover some nefarious conspiracy. Instead, it shows how negligence, carelessness, stubbornness and ignorance were the drivers for these changes for the worse.
Before reading, I was under the impression that the book was going to uncover some nefarious conspiracy. Instead, it shows how negligence, carelessness, stubbornness and ignorance were the drivers for these changes for the worse.
July 14, 2013
This a poorly written and researched book on an interesting topic. The author is not familiar with military jargon and, as a result, there are many errors that could easily have been rectified. In many ways, the book reads like a senior thesis. A good way to describe the writing would be "uncomfortable."
August 2, 2017
I think my main issue with this book is that it doesn't seem sure about what it wants to be.
Kennard's description - to say nothing of the cover and title! - present a book about the growth of extremism and organized crime in the ranks of the American military. The first chapter of the book discusses exactly that, and does so in alarming detail. The lion's share of Irregular Army discusses a series of other major, growing problems faced by the military: substance abuse, mental illness, declining physical, mental and educational standards, DADT and the ethical quandaries of noncitizen soldiers. The transition can be a little jarring if you opened this book - like I did - expecting a more in-depth look at one of those topics in particular.
Kennard's argument is that these all stem from the same source: a deliberate, substantial weakening of recruitment standards primarily intended to keep up with manpower requirements demanded by the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. With that thought in mind, they tie together. In the end, it's consistent. However, three quarters of the book still isn't what you would expect from the title and cover description. If I was able to suggest one thing to Kennard prior to this book getting published, it would be pretty simple: change those, not the text!
For the most part, Kennard presents his arguments reasonably well. While this book is very much a polemic, it's not just opinion; it's a rare page that doesn't have a source or two footnoted or named in-text. His overall writing style is focused on personal stories representative of the larger problems which make the situations he's describing more accessible (sometimes heartbreakingly - or infuriatingly - so). The overall weight of the book is somewhat spoiled, however, by its epilogue, which starts off with a pet peeve of mine in the form of a lengthy allegory to the military decline of the Roman Empire. Such comparisons are a common temptation to writers working in recent history or current events, but are almost never done well. This book's attempt is no exception, stumbling about and falling over alongside countless other attempts by other authors.
So it's a flawed book, sure. It doesn't describe itself accurately, and perhaps has the feel of multiple projects which got lashed together in the end. (This might be why it doesn't.) That said, while the presentation isn't what it should have been, this plate definitely has some meat worth digesting on the challenges the US military is facing and will continue to face in coming years.
Kennard's description - to say nothing of the cover and title! - present a book about the growth of extremism and organized crime in the ranks of the American military. The first chapter of the book discusses exactly that, and does so in alarming detail. The lion's share of Irregular Army discusses a series of other major, growing problems faced by the military: substance abuse, mental illness, declining physical, mental and educational standards, DADT and the ethical quandaries of noncitizen soldiers. The transition can be a little jarring if you opened this book - like I did - expecting a more in-depth look at one of those topics in particular.
Kennard's argument is that these all stem from the same source: a deliberate, substantial weakening of recruitment standards primarily intended to keep up with manpower requirements demanded by the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. With that thought in mind, they tie together. In the end, it's consistent. However, three quarters of the book still isn't what you would expect from the title and cover description. If I was able to suggest one thing to Kennard prior to this book getting published, it would be pretty simple: change those, not the text!
For the most part, Kennard presents his arguments reasonably well. While this book is very much a polemic, it's not just opinion; it's a rare page that doesn't have a source or two footnoted or named in-text. His overall writing style is focused on personal stories representative of the larger problems which make the situations he's describing more accessible (sometimes heartbreakingly - or infuriatingly - so). The overall weight of the book is somewhat spoiled, however, by its epilogue, which starts off with a pet peeve of mine in the form of a lengthy allegory to the military decline of the Roman Empire. Such comparisons are a common temptation to writers working in recent history or current events, but are almost never done well. This book's attempt is no exception, stumbling about and falling over alongside countless other attempts by other authors.
So it's a flawed book, sure. It doesn't describe itself accurately, and perhaps has the feel of multiple projects which got lashed together in the end. (This might be why it doesn't.) That said, while the presentation isn't what it should have been, this plate definitely has some meat worth digesting on the challenges the US military is facing and will continue to face in coming years.
December 28, 2017
Content Note - this book deadnames and misgenders Chelsea Manning (though I'm fairly certain she was not yet out when it was published, so I don't really blame the author), and its use of language about fat people was awful.
It took me so long to get around to reading this book, I thought it would feel more out of date than it was (I believe it was published during Obama's first term), but the first chapter, in particular, dealing with neonazis in the military, seemed pretty ...er... current (though, I would say I'm more worried about neonazis and white supremacists in politics and police right now).
The chapter on Outsiders and the Epilogue were particularly interesting to me.
That said, while I found this book to be pretty informative (more about the US military than I ever thought I'd read), its struggle to maintain "neutrality" in the face of some of the worst (recent) crimes of the US military was a little disconcerting to me, and I found some of his points in the first chapter (Neonazis/gangs) a bit repetitive. The chapter titled Young, plumb, dumb and ready to serve seemed particularly unfocused to me, like it was trying to do too many things at once. Personally, I would have preferred the chapters to be further broken down, with a more concise thesis in each one.
It took me so long to get around to reading this book, I thought it would feel more out of date than it was (I believe it was published during Obama's first term), but the first chapter, in particular, dealing with neonazis in the military, seemed pretty ...er... current (though, I would say I'm more worried about neonazis and white supremacists in politics and police right now).
The chapter on Outsiders and the Epilogue were particularly interesting to me.
That said, while I found this book to be pretty informative (more about the US military than I ever thought I'd read), its struggle to maintain "neutrality" in the face of some of the worst (recent) crimes of the US military was a little disconcerting to me, and I found some of his points in the first chapter (Neonazis/gangs) a bit repetitive. The chapter titled Young, plumb, dumb and ready to serve seemed particularly unfocused to me, like it was trying to do too many things at once. Personally, I would have preferred the chapters to be further broken down, with a more concise thesis in each one.
December 4, 2019
A cracking good read which goes a long way to explaining how the commission of war crimes was so prevalent in Iraq. People who seemed keen to perpetrate them were deliberately recruited.
November 12, 2016
Deceiving subtitle. This is quite a deep dive into the recruitment standards of the Army since the beginning of the war on terror. With a large mix of anecdotal and research based evidence, Kennard presents a critique of Rumsfeld's vision for the army (which was later picked up by Obama) and how it fails across many spectrums.
Though the writing at times seems unfocused, and more about the storytelling than anything else, Kennard spends time each chapter trying to bring it back to his central arguments. Though I would like to see a larger, and deeper look into the "barbarization" of the US army, this serves as a strong warning about how much has changed within the military as it turns a blind eye to extremists, reduces it help of the wounded and mentally scarred, and uses intimidation tactics on the nation's youth and poor all in the name of having a larger army.
Though the writing at times seems unfocused, and more about the storytelling than anything else, Kennard spends time each chapter trying to bring it back to his central arguments. Though I would like to see a larger, and deeper look into the "barbarization" of the US army, this serves as a strong warning about how much has changed within the military as it turns a blind eye to extremists, reduces it help of the wounded and mentally scarred, and uses intimidation tactics on the nation's youth and poor all in the name of having a larger army.
April 6, 2017
(Note: I despise the cover not for being inflammatory or uncreative. I despise it because of how little it focuses on the wide range of problems produced by the US Military and it’s creation of the so-called War On Terror. A swastika is always striking imagery, but I think it hurt the book’s presented message in the long run.)
In life, there are many dark threads. One day, you’ll hear about the dark thread concerning a massacre of civilians in the Middle East. The next day, a friend tells you about gang members robbing a bank with above mysterious competency. A few days later, you read an article detailing the exploits of neo-nazis in Florida with military training. Disparate at first, these dark threads appear to be fray ends that once made up the mixed cloth tapestry called life.
In reality, these dark threads are still part of a different, menacing, blackened cloth, easily capable and strong enough to create a noose. Most people don’t like to acknowledge this noose exists. Some claim the noose only hangs enemies of the state with justifiable casualties of innocents. A few brave souls acknowledge the nooses existence and seek it’s dissolution. No matter where people stand on the noose problem, one question is divided among all: Whose hands crafted the noose in the first place?
The answer to that question: The US military. Read this book and be amazed at how often and hard hundreds of people can drop the ball. I'm serious, it would be impressive if it didn't end up as a literal meatgrinder.
In life, there are many dark threads. One day, you’ll hear about the dark thread concerning a massacre of civilians in the Middle East. The next day, a friend tells you about gang members robbing a bank with above mysterious competency. A few days later, you read an article detailing the exploits of neo-nazis in Florida with military training. Disparate at first, these dark threads appear to be fray ends that once made up the mixed cloth tapestry called life.
In reality, these dark threads are still part of a different, menacing, blackened cloth, easily capable and strong enough to create a noose. Most people don’t like to acknowledge this noose exists. Some claim the noose only hangs enemies of the state with justifiable casualties of innocents. A few brave souls acknowledge the nooses existence and seek it’s dissolution. No matter where people stand on the noose problem, one question is divided among all: Whose hands crafted the noose in the first place?
The answer to that question: The US military. Read this book and be amazed at how often and hard hundreds of people can drop the ball. I'm serious, it would be impressive if it didn't end up as a literal meatgrinder.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews