Ask Me Help Desk - For employment purposes, will this offense come up on a criminal background check?

For employment purposes, will this offense come up on a criminal background check?

I was in the military during this time and stationed in Germany. I was taken into custody by the military police for shoplifting in a military based store, 23 years ago. I was fingerprinted and then released to my unit. I never went to court but received reprimand by my unit, where I did 45 days extra duty.

Did you receive an Article 15 for the offense?

I do not believe it will.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarn1

I was in the military during this time and stationed in Germany. I was taken into custody by the military police for shoplifting in a military based store, 23 years ago. I was fingerprinted and then released to my unit. I never went to court but received reprimand by my unit, where I did 45 days extra duty.

Also I did receive an article 15

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomou

Did you receive an Article 15 for the offense?

Yes

An article 15 is a lot more than a reprimand from your company.

Yes it is likely to show up

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

An article 15 is alot more than a reprimand from your company.

yes it is likely to show up

Thanks for the quick reply.

Another word for Article 15 is “permanent record.” If the prospective employer does a complete background check to include your military record, then the answer to your question is yes, it will come up. It will not be found in any civilian court, and although you were in Germany at the time of the offense, it will always be a permanent part of your military record.

Unfortunately there is no way to have an Article 15 removed from your record. If you plead guilty, or confessed to the offense, the record will reflect that.

Unless you were discharged for a pattern of misconduct, I am going to assume you received an honorable discharge. If this is the case, and seeing as this was so long ago, don't volunteer any info, but always be honest when asked about this. Sometimes the employer has the information right in front of them, but they just want to see how you will react when asked. Hopefully the employer will be able to look past this.

Good luck with your job search.