About halfway through the town hall, Chief Jeffrey Gassaway, assistant police chief at the Fort Bragg Law Enforcement Center, diverged from his slideshow presentation for a moment to discuss "larceny of government property," which has become "one of the major crimes that we have both on and off the installation."
He went on to highlight that, per US military regulations, one's TA-50 - US Army-issued gear given to soldiers in a unit - cannot be stored in one's vehicle at any time.
Gassaway revealed that Fort Bragg authorities have begun working with local law enforcement following the build-up of off-site larceny reports.
"There are several reports being done daily for all my TA-50 being stolen," he said, warning commanders and first sergeants that soldiers can be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice if TA-50 is stolen out of their car.
"If you report larceny of government property, and we find out through the investigation that, that property was stored in your vehicle, you are also subject to Article 92 violation," Gassaway stated.
According to the chief, the military gear lifted from Fort Bragg is being resold.
"We have thousands and thousands of dollars of [government] property being taken off this installation and sold other places," he concluded.
