An Army noncommissioned officer has been charged with allegedly stealing machine gun parts and a smoke grenade, the disappearance of which set off a chaotic brigade-wide recall and search on and around Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
Sgt. Christopher Shepler, a company NCO from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, was charged with larceny and loss of military property, according to a Monday statement from 7th Infantry Division spokesperson, Lt. Col. Bryen Freigo.
The charges, filed last month, allege that Shepler stole an M2 .50-caliber machine gun receiver and an M240 machine gun barrel, in addition to the smoke grenade.
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The .50 cal piece was first reported missing on Oct. 7 by 5-20's sister company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment. The weapon was left in the care of 2-3's staff duty for soldiers to use if they wanted to practice operating the unloaded weapon in preparation for the brigade's upcoming Expert Infantry and Expert Soldier Badge qualifications.
Staff duty is a 24/7 posting in a unit's area, and operation of the weapon is part of the qualification for the two Army skill badges.
Military.com has reached out to Shepler for comment via email but did not hear back by publication. Military.com also requested the contact information for the NCO's legal counsel from the…
