Guard Unit Questioned After Claim Of Theft Filed

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San Diego Union-Tribune
November 6, 2007
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Relief group says items for evacuees were taken
By Joe Hughes and Rick Rogers, Staff Writers
A California National Guard unit that provided disaster relief in Potrero during the Harris fire is under investigation after at least one of its soldiers allegedly took donated goods meant for fire victims, National Guard officials confirmed yesterday.
The items reportedly included snacks, drinks and diapers. All of them were returned to the designated nonprofit after the investigation began, said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann, director of public affairs for the National Guard in Sacramento.
The man supervising the 330th Military Police Company's mission has been relieved of duty until the investigation is completed, Siepmann said.
About three dozen members of the unit were held at the Guard's armory on Palm Avenue in National City until last night, when they were bused to their home base in Ontario.
“The California National Guard takes all allegations of improper conduct seriously and will take action, to include disciplinary measures, against any soldiers who may have acted inappropriately,” Siepmann said.
He would not provide other details about the investigation, including the potential punishment for theft.
The 330th Company was sent to Potrero on Oct. 23 to provide security and other assistance to law enforcement and relief agencies, Siepmann said. Its members were part of more than 2,000 National Guard personnel sent to San Diego County after nearly a dozen blazes broke out. The fires killed at least seven people, destroyed nearly 1,700 homes, burned roughly 370,000 acres and displaced more than a half-million residents.
The soldiers took on tasks such as coordinating traffic, patrolling for looters and aiding people who were staying at evacuation centers throughout the county.
Last week, Guard officials launched an investigation after volunteers for a relief group complained to the Sheriff's Department that members of the the company had taken supplies designated for evacuees. The supplies were kept at a fire station that was used as a makeshift feeding center during the Harris blaze.
The unit's troops had camped in tents near the fire station, which was frequented by the American Red Cross. Last night, Red Cross spokeswoman Peyton Roberts said the Red Cross did not file a grievance and did not staff the feeding center.
Roberts said Red Cross volunteers dropped by the center occasionally, but that it was operated by the area's Community Emergency Response Team.
A sheriff's official reached last night could not verify who had filed the complaint.
On Sunday, a man called The San Diego Union-Tribune identifying himself only as a 35-year-old member of the 330th Company.
He said the unit's soldiers were spending their time inside the armory playing cards and talking on cell phones. They slept on cots and ate food that was trucked in.
In connection with the investigation, the man said he and his fellow soldiers had to give sworn statements about their activities during the fire-relief mission.
“I don't know of anything we did wrong, and we don't know what we are being accused of,” said the man, who described himself as a worker for a cable company in Palm Springs.
“We are all worried about losing our jobs because we have been away,” he added.
National Guard members are reservists who report to designated armories for periodic training. Besides getting called up to serve after natural disasters, they have helped the Border Patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, tens of thousands have served combat duty in Iraq.
Maj. Bob Stern, a spokesman for the task force that coordinated the Guard's wildfire-response efforts in San Diego County, said the allegations of theft shouldn't take away from the good work of thousands of National Guard troops during the fires. For example, Stern said, one Guard member arrested a looting suspect in East County during the fires.
Staff writer Pauline Repard contributed to this report.
 
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