My chain of command just announced that they're going to inspect on and off-post housing. What are they allow to inspect?

You could have fun with it. Especially if you have a spare room. Put something really weird, but otherwise legal, in the room. Like a shrine with candles, incense and a picture of Ernest Borgnine, some random admiral or one of the people doing the inspection. Get the kids on board and have them refer to the inspector as "the chosen one."

When I was a young PFC living in Germany. I got tired of the Barracks and moved out. I still maintained an area in the barracks. My supervisor (E7)came over with a six pack. He told me he was supposed to inspect my off post quarters for health and safety reasons. We sat down at the kitchen table had a beer and he left.

If it’s your own property, or you rent from a private property owner they can’t inspect anything other than what they can see from the public roadway or sidewalk. The Army is part of the government is restricted from 4th Amendment from searching or entering your home. I would respectfully tell them no and to get a search warrant from a civilian judge (which will not likely happen). Remember Commanders only have search or inspection authority within their own company area, battalion area, installation etc.. Do what you want but I wouldn’t let them in my house.

My suggestion is to have your wife tell them they cannot enter if you do not want them to come in. I had a command try this. My wife said hell no. The tried to justify it saying he military paid BAH so they were entitled to inspect. She said she wanted a search warrant or police there also. And she would be at the JAG office at 0730. They left and never came back. No right to be in off post housing.

It seems like everybody’s missing an important point about this question. No commander in his right mind would go charging into your private home off base. There’s a huge breakdown of communication between whoever is setting up these inspections and the people that they are going to be inspecting. Most likely it is a morale and welfare type inspection and it’s purely voluntarily on the other hand if it’s some real search and seizure type thing that they will have all the vehicle search warrants that they need in either case someone’s not talking to somebody and someone’s not explaining everything to everybody.

Tell them to pound sand, or your wife said no fucking way.

No need for me to answer this one. JP4 and two of the other SFCs answered it perfectly. I will say that I've had this happen to me as well. And it was to make sure that I wasn't living foul. Terrible living conditions can easily hinder a trooper's mission readiness. And in this day and age where anything can pop off at a moment's notice & your unit gets the call, one trooper's absence can mean disaster for the mission.

I doubt they have any right to access your property. In my day they would have been met at the door with my .45 and escorted on my property.

I agree with SFC Jayson Boyd below. They cannot enter your off post residence any more than a landlord can if you rent. Your permission is required. On post is the property of the U.S. Government they have full authority over that. I once had a 1st Sgt demand my license and keys to my car which I turned over to him. The JAG came down on him pretty hard because that is private property. He had to give them back but could and did, suspend my post driving privileges. Fortunately I had a second car he did know know about so it was no problem. I just made sure I parked it where I wouldn't be seen entering or leaving it.

As this has happened to me long ago I sought legal advice at the time. Off post and on post privatized housing (basically everything but barracks) are not subject to searches by the chain of command. They can knock on the door and ask permission to enter. You have no obligation to let them in.

On post housing does not require police/warrants; but it does require a member of staff from the privatized housing company as an escort.