Posted on Jul 27, 2018
Are there steps/procedure in attempting to retrieve stolen items from barracks?
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While on leave an NCO cut the tape on the door to my barracks room, allowing another soldier into the room. That soldier lived in my room for a little over a week while I was on leave. Upon my return, several personal items were missing, boxes & bags had been gone through and trash on the floor. Some of which have family/sentimental value and cannot be replaced or compensated for. My leadership says I can press charges on the NCO who illegally cut the tape on my door. As a private trying to grow successfully in my career, I am very uncomfortable pressing charges on an NCO. Are there other steps I can take to track down the soldier who was put into my room and attempt to retrieve my items? Or maybe a department that provides assistance with something like this?
(This message was forwarded from my son)
(This message was forwarded from my son)
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 10
You should most definitely press charges on that NCO. First, it is the only way to ensure something happens to get your stuff back. Second, do you really want to come up in the military with superiors who believe that they can do whatever they want without consequence. There was a line, your NCO crossed it, he needs to be punished for it.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
SFC Marc W. see, I think this is something that young or new soldiers don't quite understand. Good leadership will always want bad leadership dealt with. Good leaders don't want those types in positions of leadership or power.
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You maybe can have the MP's investigate, you have used the CoC- the NCO was wrong and should have known better- UCMJ is his/their problem, not yours in this case.
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Update: His command has set up a meeting for him on Monday. He is under the impression they will go over his high dollar value sheet and explain the proper steps in filing a report for the other personal items & requesting charges to be filed.
Although I have discovered today through other outlets that theft is a big problem on base, I hope this information will somehow help others. We appreciate your advice very much. I will share the outcome here for future reference.
Although I have discovered today through other outlets that theft is a big problem on base, I hope this information will somehow help others. We appreciate your advice very much. I will share the outcome here for future reference.
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I'm confused. What does cutting tape mean? Was his room a single room? Did the NCO not have authority to put someone in the room? There are so many questions that this scenario doesn't explain. I'm not aware of any reason for your son's room to have tape on it shy of it being a crime scene. Why would an NCO put a soldier in a barracks room without the decision being blessed off by the 1SG or CSM. As far as the stolen property, he needs to report it to the proper authorities.
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Kari Hazeltine
They are told to put 'tape' which was given to them, over their card access when going on leave. I did read this information on his in-processing paperwork. I have also been to the base to visit him and have seen other doors with this tape, it must be a procedure at this base. I don't know how the NCO would have the authority to put someone into his room. He is living in this room, another soldier was put in his room with all of his things in the room, while he was on leave.
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SGT Tony Clifford
A card reader makes this a little less like a believable story. This means that the NCO would have had to talk to people responsible for assigning rooms and have gotten a key card for a room issue to someone else. They keep track of whether not a room is occupied. This makes me think that your son's story is either a lie altogether or he has a room for two people. Either way, the NCO wouldn't have been able to get the other soldier access without having it blessed off by someone else.
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SFC Marc W.
What I've seen and done in the past was to seal soldier's room the day they left for leave. We typically do inventories of high value items in the days leading up to it.
SGT Tony Clifford that's not entirely true. This NCO could have been a staff duty or rear d NCO who would both have access to master keys in addition to responsibility for housing new arrivals. I can see how it could happen with no one over a SGT or SSG knowing.
SGT Tony Clifford that's not entirely true. This NCO could have been a staff duty or rear d NCO who would both have access to master keys in addition to responsibility for housing new arrivals. I can see how it could happen with no one over a SGT or SSG knowing.
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Kari Hazeltine
He must have gone through the people responsible for assigning rooms because my sons card did not work upon his return. He had to call about that and someone met him at his room, took a picture of the tape cut, inspected the room having my son acknowledge that there was nothing in the room belonging to the other soldier. Access to his room was returned and that is when he was told he could file a request for charges. It is a room with two separate bedrooms.
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Respectfully, your son is a private. He doesn’t press charges against anyone. “My leadership says I can press charges on the NCO who illegally cut the tape on my door.”
That’s simply not how the Army works. If that is indeed what your son told you, your son is either in the absolute worst Army unit of all time, or he has not told you accurate information.
That just doesn’t sound right. Honestly, I’d find it far more likely that a private lost or sold his property, and is now trying to find a way out of his predicament, than his Commander telling that private to press charges on an NCO.
Best of luck.
That’s simply not how the Army works. If that is indeed what your son told you, your son is either in the absolute worst Army unit of all time, or he has not told you accurate information.
That just doesn’t sound right. Honestly, I’d find it far more likely that a private lost or sold his property, and is now trying to find a way out of his predicament, than his Commander telling that private to press charges on an NCO.
Best of luck.
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SGT (Join to see)
SFC Kelly Fuerhoff - I honestly never saw stuff like this happen. It sounds like the soldier was in a shared barracks room, with two separate bedrooms. I never encountered another soldier being temporarily quartered into an assigned room when a soldier was on leave.
If so, the soldier needs to involve his NCO support channel and chain of command.
If so, the soldier needs to involve his NCO support channel and chain of command.
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The NCO had no right cutting the tape, and formal charges should be brought against him and the person that stole the items.
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