If you found out your Leader or Immediate Supervisor was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you do?

Kinda my job as the FIAR auditor and before that I was the Quality Assurance Manager in Finance. I will say there is a lot of gray area out there and people tend to use it and plead ignorant when they are caught. Oddly enough it is not the struggling lower E ranks either- leadership has seen it share of issues.

LTC Stephen F. SP5 Mark Kuzinski COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj William W. 'Bill' PriceCPL Dave Hoover SSG William Jones Sgt Vance Bonds SGT (Join to see) Cpl (Join to see) SGT Rick Colburn PO1 H Gene Lawrence Maj Robert Thornton PO3 Bob McCord SPC Douglas Bolton CWO3 Dennis M. Lt Col Charlie Brown TSgt Joe C. PO3 Craig Phillips CW5 Jack Cardwell

Or when you report your ex-wife (MI 1LT in a strategic unit)) of criminal activity/UCMJ violations such as lying on her SF-86 (past employment as an exotic dancer [yes I know, how cliche of me] and drug use to name but a few) and attempting to facilitate the sale of narcotics between her sister and a fellow MIBOLC student and perjuy, and it gets chalked up as a “letter-writing campaign” by a complicit JAG... and no, whistle-blower protections were not only not afforded but reprisals were supported by both commands. Welcome to the new military.

I'd be on the phone to CID quick, fast and in a hurry. Turned in an SFC with 18 year service for filing a fraudulent travel voucher. We were on the same TDY, and he claimed lodging costs. It cost us nothing for lodging. He scanned an old hotel receipt, did some magic, and filed the claim. I reported his ass pronto. He ended up a private at Leavenworth.

Today, as a professional license holder beholden to a comprehensive Ethics code, I would confront the supervisor first and tell him that I have to let the chain of command know what is going on. If this does not stop, then I need to consult the police or the FBI. I cannot allow my name to be attached or associated with anything I am doing because my own career depends on good professional standing, like not going to jail for willingly or negligently including myself in my supervisor's fraud. And losing my license to practice. My signature stands for integrity and I will not lie for a client. If it comes down to it, I have leave the company to protect myself and my standing and cooperate fully with any investigation that is coming.

So, to answer the question, I would talk to or report them (depending on what the level of fraud was). Learning the how and when to report and to whom is hard sometimes. Here is a situation that I learned from...

I was asked to take the company command of the hospital at Ft Lee. There was an E-8(P) that had an affair with one of the nurses (a MAJ). His wife brought up the charges, but withdrew them. They had to then let the NCO head to the SGM’s Acad. I was called months later while in CAS3 by the Cdr of the battalion I was headed to. She heard I “knew” her incoming CSM (the E-8 from the hospital) and I recommended she call the former hospital commander, which she did. I find out later there was already friction between the CSM and the BC due to his request to delay of 6 months when they had already been with lout a CSM for several months (got pulled to BDE).

When I arrived the friction was evident, but he remembered me and was “cool” towards me and all seemed well.

About 7 months later the BC changed out and the CSM and Er had a much better relationship and again all seemed well. However, after about 6 months I started hearing the same comments from Soldiers about the CSM that I had heard at FT Lee. I approached the XO and she told me not to saw anything unless I had proof. So, I remained silent.

Well, the CSM went on PTDY to FT Bliss (it seems to see his “honey” that he had there). His wife brought his car and all his stuff to his parking spot and Brit forward charges again. He eventually was “allowed to retire” and that was all.

He was using government resources and Soldiers in his dealings. However the BC and the prosecutors were not willing to do a CM.

Interestingly my relationship changed with the BC for the worse and I received a lack luster OER out of command after that!

It would have to depend on the issue at hand. What is the offense and how big is it? How many people are involved and at what level to they represent the organization. This would influence my decision to directly or indirectly approach the situation. The number of people may indicate the level of retribution recieved. Something petty like leave in conjunction with pass or TDY is manageable at my level. However, misappropriated funds and embezzlement is way above my pay grade. I have dealt with various issues and can say that the more involved and complex the issue the more indirect I would be at reporting it. Weigh the situation and make a determination to directly or indirectly report the situation. Lastly, do not allow it to continue.

Definitely turn them in, why confront a person that lacks integrity. Ultimately that person can make your career or life miserable.

There are a number of ways to address the general aspect of the question. The Services and the multitude of commands within afford access to I.G.s, a command’s chain of command etc. The first question is if the issue is a hill worth dying on. By that I mean will you seriously violate your ethic if no action taken or is the issue worth your putting your career on the line. That said, I stopped an O-6’s action by taking him to the deputy and the O-6 did not end up happy at all. 10 yrs later, that O-6 was an O-8 and sat on my selection board to O-5...he personally shot me down. One is not supposed to ever hear about the inner workings of a Navy Selection Board, but a person was so incensed that he let me know through an intermediary that I hadn’t failed. Looking back on the previous incident, I have no regrets. Justice was served awhile later though. The Admiral had misinformed SecDef Cheney during Desert Storm and I caught the lie while watching Cheney’s congressional testimony. I still had phone numbers and called Cheney’s office and a friend there. The O-8 retired early.

There is a psychological principle that applies here. The one who stands and takes action in an organization or a group is the anomaly as the pressure of the group is such that inaction prevails. To speak out or take action is full of trepidation. For instance, if a commanding officer is addressing a seated group and makes erroneous statements that really need correction, rare is the officer who speaks up. If one does speak up, it’s interesting to hear others come up to that person and say they wish they had said something.

1. make sure you are on solid ground before saying or doing anything.
2. Make sure there is sufficient supporting evidence or documentation to support your allegation
and its verified and validated.
3. Tell someone else in the unit command what you know and how you know it.
4. Be upfront - inform the subject of the allegation, "If you don't do the right thing, I will."
5. He or she will find out sooner than later who pulled the trigger on them anyway.
6. Be prepared for retribution - from anyone - from the inside or the outside.
7. Its not about them or us, its about right and wrong.
8. Lastly - no one ever leaves the military or government service the same way they came in -
ever. . .

I don't remember if I was a SFC or 1SG at the time but I was also working as an Art Director at an advertising agency. I had a local hotel as a client and sent a photographer to the hotel to shoot background photos. She came back to me a couple of days latter with B/W proof of her shoot. There in several pic of the dinning and dance floor was my Commander, a Major and a Female Intelligence officer Captain enjoying the night. The Major lived some 65 miles away so was there for the evening. It was some knowledge about this. Later during Reforger in Germany because of tight space I shared the ground by them as a sleeping place in a GP Medium. It also happen later between another Major (we Had two Majors in the company] and a SGT and a CWO and a SP4. This was in the eighties and it went on. Everything seemed agreeable to all parties. Beer and Hot Tub parties were common after duty hours. I elected to home to my family.