Posted on 10/29/2018 6:17:07 AM PDT by Gamecock
The Marine Corps is known for rules limiting recruits from growing facial hair during boot camp.
At its Parris Island training facility in South Carolina, most aspiring Marines are cleanly shaven and get a buzz cut soon after showing up. It’s one reason why a store there carries so many razor blades.
But earlier this month, a noncommissioned Marine Corps officer and three civilians at the Beaufort County installation were accused of trying to profit off the store’s cache of grooming supplies after more than $1.5 million worth of razors and razor blades went missing.
First Sgt. Lascelles Chambers, a Marine for the past 21 years, faces possible charges in military court, said Maj. Roger Hollenback, a spokesman for the Marine Corps Forces Reserve.
The allegations emerged publicly after the civilian employees — Beaufort residents Orlando Byson, 35, Tommie Harrison Jr., 27, and Sarah Brutus, 36 — were indicted on Oct. 10 with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The felony carries up to five years in prison. Byson and Harrison also face a felony count of theft of government property, which could bring up to 10 years. They are set to be arraigned Oct. 30 in U.S. District Court in Charleston.
In a preliminary hearing that has not been scheduled, a military judge is expected to decide whether to refer Chambers to court-martial proceedings, Hollenback said. Meanwhile, Chambers is actively serving in the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“This hearing will determine the Marine Corps’ next course of action,” Hollenback said in a statement.
At more than $2 each, razor blades can get pricey for the clean-shaven. Because of their value, there’s a black market for stolen blades. Police have been fighting high-dollar thefts in places such as Chicago, Florida and Canada.
Marines, most of whom stay clean-shaven, usually see price breaks on shaving supplies at commissaries.
The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island offers a store where recruits can buy the items at below-market prices. And the facility in Port Royal sees a lot of recruits: About 17,000 a year pass through the boot camp for the eastern half of the country.
Before his assignment there, Chambers had served around the world, a Marine Corps webpage stated. He had been named recruiter of the year in California and was an administrative chief in Japan, all while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
He started working as Parris Island’s service company first sergeant in August 2016.
The indictment, which referred to Chambers by his initials, laid out how the alleged theft conspiracy worked:
Starting around January 2017, Chambers asked Brutus to start stealing boxes of high-end Gillette razors, razor blades and other items from the store’s warehouse. Brutus then enlisted two other employees to help out.
Harrison and Byson took razors from the store every week. They disabled surveillance cameras or took care not to be seen on the footage.
At first, the workers delivered the stolen goods in person to Chambers. But in March, Chambers was transferred to his current post in Florida, so they started sending him packages through the mail.
Chambers then sold the items to people in other states.
The retail value of the merchandise “exceeded $1.5 million,” the indictment stated.
But the plan’s unraveling appeared to have stemmed from use of the Postal Service.
In May, boxes stuffed with 720 packs of Gillette Fusion razor blades and razors were sent to New York. The blades sell on Amazon.com for nearly $25 per pack of eight; the razor itself is about $10.
But the next day, Chambers called the Postal Service and inquired about the status of the parcels.
Federal investigators later examined his finances. They found wire transfers from his Navy Federal Credit Union account to one of the employees.
If convicted of the conspiracy, the defendants will likely be ordered to pay back the retail value of everything they took.
I used to travel to Kirtland AFB (Sandia National Lab is located there) at least once per month. One day I was in the Base Exchange parking lot when a TSgt (E-6) drove up in a new AMG Hammer and parked next to me.
I have always wonder how an E-6 was able to own such an expensive car. Maybe from a wealthy family?
I use the dollar shave club razors. Well worth the price. You just buy the handle and they send you blades every month. I suggest people buy the executive series of products.
Disgrace to the uniform.
Least he can shoot.
But do you flip the blade over in the alternate week?
As far as I can tell, yes. I also get about 2 weeks per blade on Harry's, and they stay pretty sharp throughout. I also have found that I can get the blades at local Target, so I get them as I need them. Factory direct shipping was strange, got one order real early, another one just as the 2 weeks was finishing on my last blade.
Hopefully, they've solved the problem, but with on demand retailers, it's not my worry.
Right there with you. I get a lot more than 3-4 shaves out of a blade, though. And a cake of soap lasts 8 months or so.
I switched to using a double-edged safety razor. $10 for 100 blades is fantastic. I don’t miss paying for Gillette cartridges at all and I get a far better shave.
Multiblade razor cause all sorts of problems like ingrown hairs and abrasions.
All of that has gone away since I switched.
I always loved freezing my ass off on the flight line waiting on an issue parka, while they sat INSIDE the warehouse wearing parkas.
There is.
It took me a couple of weeks to learn how to do it, now I am pretty much on cruise control. There are a lot of great instructional videos on YouTube, If you are thinking abut this.
The biggest trick is to let the weight of the razor apply the pressure that is on your face. To much pressure and you get a razor burn. I started off by cocking my head to the left and right and gently dragging the razor across my face.
There is also a huge variance in the sharpness of blades. Feather blades are legendary for being the sharpest, but some people can’t tolerate those. Right now I am working though a sample pack and really liking some blades from Pakistan called Treet. Getting a nice shave.
The other thing that is odd is after using canned shaving cream forever is that the cream/soap that I use doesn’t develop into a “rich lather” like the canned stuff. Turns out the canned stuff is full of air, so it looks fluffy. The creams and soaps actually work better because you use a brush to apply it. The brush helps your facial hair to stand up.
I wonder if it was worth pissing away 21 years of service? He will lose everything over this.
Hi, OldGoatCPO-
First thing my beloved does when he sees anyone on screen or in a picture is to check out the ribbons.
He laughed a lot at the old shows we used to watch.
Said there’s a reason most Services don’t want to be tied to a lot of military-style shows. LOL
That is very true especially the low budget films. Funny story I actually was in a low budget film that had a military scene. I was in it and my scene lasted five whole minutes before I died. I helped obtain old uniforms at Army Navy Stores around Camp Pendleton The story was supposed to take place in 1985, but the director was an old Army guy so he cheaply bought all the old Marine Corps khaki uniforms he could find. I tried to tell him nobody wears khaki since around 1979 and nobody wore khakis in the field. But they were cheap since obviously nobody wanted them. For the ribbons, these supposed Army guys had a lot of Marine Corps fruit salad on their chests. The characters playing mercenaries purchased their own outfits, they actually looked more like US Military then my character. It was all fun though..
Over the last five to ten years I have seen and read about more senior enlisted and officer in the Corps who do $hit like this and end up busted two ranks and retired or brig time and lose everything. Sex and greed and an attitude that they are untouchable exists among many senior USMC folks. One good officer misused funds, did not steal them like this guy. The Colonel spent one type of money on items for his command that required the purchase to go through channels which would have taken too much time. It was not an authorized purchase, but because he was the Colonel and he owned those funds he did it anyway. He was very senior and marked for a star until forcibly retired. Nice guy, but he did not listen to juniors who told him no. I have been there and dealt with it myself. There is an arrogance I did not see in the average Navy Commander or Captain. Some senior Navy Officers are like that but I have gone out drinking with Admirals and Captains as a Chief and they were pretty regular guys and ladies. However, the Navy has had more then a few black eyes lately.
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