Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
San Diego Union-Tribune
November 8, 2007
Pg. 1
By Steve Liewer, Staff Writer
Military investigators cleared all members of a California National Guard unit yesterday who were accused of stealing supplies intended for victims of last month's wildfires from a relief center in Potrero.
Thirty-seven soldiers from the Ontario-based 330th Military Police Company were assigned to live and work at the makeshift center starting Oct. 23. They provided security and other help to law enforcement and relief agencies after the Harris fire burned through Potrero, a small community near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Some volunteers at the center told the soldiers they could help themselves to any supplies, according to a report that summarized findings by the National Guard Criminal Investigation Division.
On Nov. 1, seven soldiers accepted the offer and took food to their tents, said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann, a California National Guard spokesman.
Siepmann said he wasn't sure what or how much was taken, although it apparently included some packets of beef jerky. All the items were returned, he added.
“I got the impression it was not much, and it was done in good faith,” Siepmann said. “The soldiers themselves thought that it was OK to take these things, not that it was good judgment.”
Two volunteers at the center in a Potrero fire station reported to the Sheriff's Department on Saturday that members of the Guard unit had stolen some supplies, according to the investigators' findings. Sheriff's deputies determined the charges were unfounded, and National Guard investigators later confirmed that conclusion.
Siepmann said the allegations apparently were rooted in a conflict between two volunteers and a sergeant who headed the Guard detachment. The Guard leader was removed from his position at the center after his commanders determined that his conduct contributed to the dispute.
“What happened was miscommunication and probably some interpersonal dynamics,” Siepmann said.
The head volunteer at the Potrero relief center said yesterday that she was grateful for the National Guard's assistance.
“There were no complaints out of our facility,” said Brenda Wise, the local coordinator of the California Emergency Response Team. “We have no supplies missing. We were proud to have them here.”
The National Guard report did not name the two who made the complaint, and sheriff's officials also have not identified them.
The incident came to public attention after a man who identified himself only as a member of the 330th Military Police Company called The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday evening. He said he and the unit's other soldiers were asked to give sworn statements about the alleged theft while being detained at a National Guard armory in National City.
They were released Monday night and bused back to their base in Ontario.
About 2,600 National Guard members were deployed in response to the Southern California wildfires that started Oct. 21. The fires in San Diego County burned about 370,000 acres and killed at least eight people.
Siepmann said all but about 100 soldiers have returned home.
National Guard members are reserve soldiers. Besides serving during and after natural disasters, they have been called up for combat duty in Iraq and elsewhere. In addition, they have helped the Border Patrol since last year.
November 8, 2007
Pg. 1
By Steve Liewer, Staff Writer
Military investigators cleared all members of a California National Guard unit yesterday who were accused of stealing supplies intended for victims of last month's wildfires from a relief center in Potrero.
Thirty-seven soldiers from the Ontario-based 330th Military Police Company were assigned to live and work at the makeshift center starting Oct. 23. They provided security and other help to law enforcement and relief agencies after the Harris fire burned through Potrero, a small community near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Some volunteers at the center told the soldiers they could help themselves to any supplies, according to a report that summarized findings by the National Guard Criminal Investigation Division.
On Nov. 1, seven soldiers accepted the offer and took food to their tents, said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann, a California National Guard spokesman.
Siepmann said he wasn't sure what or how much was taken, although it apparently included some packets of beef jerky. All the items were returned, he added.
“I got the impression it was not much, and it was done in good faith,” Siepmann said. “The soldiers themselves thought that it was OK to take these things, not that it was good judgment.”
Two volunteers at the center in a Potrero fire station reported to the Sheriff's Department on Saturday that members of the Guard unit had stolen some supplies, according to the investigators' findings. Sheriff's deputies determined the charges were unfounded, and National Guard investigators later confirmed that conclusion.
Siepmann said the allegations apparently were rooted in a conflict between two volunteers and a sergeant who headed the Guard detachment. The Guard leader was removed from his position at the center after his commanders determined that his conduct contributed to the dispute.
“What happened was miscommunication and probably some interpersonal dynamics,” Siepmann said.
The head volunteer at the Potrero relief center said yesterday that she was grateful for the National Guard's assistance.
“There were no complaints out of our facility,” said Brenda Wise, the local coordinator of the California Emergency Response Team. “We have no supplies missing. We were proud to have them here.”
The National Guard report did not name the two who made the complaint, and sheriff's officials also have not identified them.
The incident came to public attention after a man who identified himself only as a member of the 330th Military Police Company called The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday evening. He said he and the unit's other soldiers were asked to give sworn statements about the alleged theft while being detained at a National Guard armory in National City.
They were released Monday night and bused back to their base in Ontario.
About 2,600 National Guard members were deployed in response to the Southern California wildfires that started Oct. 21. The fires in San Diego County burned about 370,000 acres and killed at least eight people.
Siepmann said all but about 100 soldiers have returned home.
National Guard members are reserve soldiers. Besides serving during and after natural disasters, they have been called up for combat duty in Iraq and elsewhere. In addition, they have helped the Border Patrol since last year.
