Discharged soldier found with stolen ammo

[meo4]

www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8637455/Discharged-soldier-found-with-stolen-ammo

Defence Force staff were called in to help Christchurch police after a man discharged from the army was found with stolen military equipment.
A 38-year-old man was remanded on bail by the Christchurch District Court on Saturday following a domestic incident at a house in Templeton on Friday night
During a search of the house, police discovered a .308 calibre rifle and ammunition hidden in a bedroom.
A police spokesman said a number of items of restricted military equipment were also found at the house, including weapon magazines and ammunition.
The offender had been discharged from the army earlier last week.
New Zealand Defence Force staff were called to the house to assist police and retrieve the restricted items.
The man was charged with possession of a firearm without a licence, unlawful possession of ammunition and theft of New Zealand Defence Force property.
He will appear in the Christchurch District Court on May 17.

I wonder if the .308 calibre rifle was the Designated Marksman Weapon (DMW) 7.62mm Rifle , sounds like some magazine or armoury rounds were skipped over.

[keroburner]

Most likely a couple of Steyr AUG mags/clips scattered around in the mix too.....

[ngatimozart]

He had a Steyr and ammo as well. He'd been discharged from the Army for a drink - drive conviction. More details here. He wa up before the court either yesterday or this morning and sentenced.

[Dave Homewood]

Do NZDF staff lose their jobs for a drink-drive conviction these days? Or was he a repeat offender or something?

[ngatimozart]

Don't know to either count Dave, but when I was in the RNZAF started to say (around 1978 IIRC) that if you lost your licence for DIC and your job involved driving you could be discharged post haste. I am only personally aware of one case where that may have happened. Involved an MT driver who twice went to Ardmore for being drunk on duty so I think he may have got the heave ho after the second stint at Ardmore.

[phil]

You can be given the boot for alcohol related offences, can't recall the exact details but it is possible.

If you lose your licence and you require a licence for your job, you automatically have your pay reduced to step 1 of your pay tier, although the provisions are there I've never heard of it happening. I don't know if that is because no one has found themselves in that position yet, or if their command didn't exercise that option.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks Phil. It may have been the same in my day but I am sure a few older guys had been DIC'd in the dim dark past and were still in.

[lumpy]

May 24, 2013 20:50:43 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Thanks Phil. It may have been the same in my day but I am sure a few older guys had been DIC'd in the dim dark past and were still in.

In the late eighties I was in a car with a few mates , driven by mate who was a machinist at Woodbourne . We got pulled over and it turned out he was over the limit ( but not as much as the rest of us )( things you do when your young and dumb ) They obviously took him to the police station for processing . Another mate who was in the car suggested that we go to the cop shop to wait till they realeased him , and take him to my house ( all walking distance , which we did ) . As I understand it , they were told their jobs would be on the line under such circumstances , and procedure was to inform your superior officer asap . Turned out in pratice ,that the only thing the RNZAF hated more than their personal getting into trouble , was actually having having to get out of bed and collect them from the local police station . My mate rung his officer from my house , and after a quick conversation was told " see you Monday morning " .
Bit of a slap on the wrist , not much else ( other than the civil proceedings i.e a DIC charge )

[Dave Homewood]

Yep I knew a young fella who got drunk at Hobby, borrowed his mate's car and got halfway home to Whenuapai before he hit a pole and totalled the car. A traffic cop showed up and went berserk at him because he was drunk - the cop had just finished scraping remains of the previous accident victim off the motorway. When the cop asked for ID, Tony pulled out his RNZAF ID. The cop instantly changed his tune, and went into 'preserve this guy's career' mode. In the end all he ended up with was a bill for the powerpole that he broke. No DIC, or anything like that. He had to pay for the car too I think but he retained his career. he later remustered to Helicopter Crewman and no doubt did a lot of good for NZ.