NM Guard Unit Complains Over Tattoo Check Of Soldiers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – The commander of New Mexico’s National Guard is demanding an apology from the Army brass.

Brigadier General Kenny Montoya says dozens of soldiers in a mostly Hispanic unit were ordered to strip to their gym shorts and searched for gang tattoos while on duty in Kuwait last year.

Army officials say the searches of 58 New Mexico National Guardsmen were proper and legal. Montoya points out the unit, Task Force Cobra, is 55 percent Hispanic. He believes race played a role.

The search was prompted by an unsubstantiated allegation from a soldier in another unit who complained about gang activity among soldiers in Kuwait.

The soldier claimed to have seen gang tattoos among members of Cobra’s parent unit. The search by an Army Criminal Investigation Division agent turned up no gang tattoos.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-04-26-07 1758EDT