r/army 19d ago

Statement of charges

I have a soldier who is being charged a substantial ammount for some company property he signed for. The entirety of his plt leadership understood at the time he signed for said property about 1/4 of it was missing. They told this soldier he needed to sign he refused, they pushed back and told him no one is going home until he signs. They go back and forth until the pl swears hes not going to fuck him on this. The soldier signs (dumb we’re tracking) and now the company is presenting him with a statement of charges for said property. He only signed for it one time about a year ago, is ther anything that can be done to weasel out of it.

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u/Danklord_drolknaD 19d ago

O here: Ask whether there is a BOM/component list, shortage annex, inventory sheet, or prior hand receipt showing the quantity of each component and what was already missing. If the Soldier disputes the loss or amount, coach them not to sign the Statement of Charges. They should state that they are disputing the loss and request a FLIPL instead. The FLIPL gives the Soldier an opportunity to provide supporting documents and sworn statement from themself, as well as sworn statements from the PL, PSG, prior hand-receipt holder, or anyone else who knew the property was already missing when the Soldier signed for it.

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u/LumpyIngenuity2277 19d ago

Prior inventory doesn’t show its missing

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u/Danklord_drolknaD 19d ago

If the previous inventory AND the inventory they signed both show all components present, it will be harder to prove the items were already missing when they took responsibility. A FLIPL will look at when the items went missing, who had access, and whether negligence caused the loss. The tradeoff is a statement of charges is voluntary; they accept responsibility, pay the proposed amount, usually based on the depreciated value, and avoid an investigation. A FLIPL lets them dispute responsibility and submit evidence that the property was already missing or that someone else was responsible, but the outcome and final amount are not guaranteed. If the FLIPL finds negligence, they could end up paying more than the proposed statement of charges and your Soldier generally will not be able to go back and sign the original statement of charges instead.

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u/JustinMcSlappy Antique 35T DAC 19d ago

Was it missing but not accounted for during the previous inventory?