If you needed another reason to side-eye anyone poking around your barracks room, here it is: A Fort Gordon soldier’s hidden laptop camera allegedly caught a contractor straight-up stealing from his desk.
And not just any contractor — we’re talking about a Georgia Power subcontractor who walked in wearing a construction vest, looked directly into the laptop camera like he was starring in his own episode of World’s Dumbest Criminals, and, according to the soldier, pocketed a $20 bill.
The video — which hit Reddit on July 17 — is quick but damning. Two men enter the barracks room, one immediately notices the laptop camera (big mistake, buddy), snags something off the desk, then has the audacity to walk over and turn the camera around like that erases the evidence. Spoiler: It doesn’t.
The soldier told Task & Purpose that he set up the recording software after previous visits from contractors had gone sideways — we’re talking footprints on beds, trash left behind, even eating in soldiers’ rooms. And just to add insult to injury? He had a sign on his door asking them to take their boots off, which, according to him, one of the workers mocked while inside. Classy.
Fort Gordon leadership has confirmed they’re investigating and identified the men as employees of a subcontractor for E. Sam Jones, working on a lighting upgrade project. Georgia Power says those workers have since been yanked off the site, adding the classic corporate line about expecting everyone to act “ethically and in compliance with all laws.” Well, sure.
Here’s where this gets bigger than one missing $20 bill: The contractors were unescorted. No military oversight. Just wandering into soldiers’ living spaces.
And when the soldier asked MPs for camera footage? He was told the cameras couldn’t rewind — because, apparently, they’re nonfunctional. That’s right: the barracks used to house trainees, so cameras were required, but now they’re broken and unfixed.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because the Government Accountability Office called this stuff out last year — busted security cameras, blind spots, and poorly monitored barracks all over the Army. This isn’t just one shady subcontractor; it’s systemic negligence.
So now, the soldier’s $20 is gone, the contractors are off the project, and the Army is scrambling to review “escort procedures.” Meanwhile, soldiers on Reddit are venting that they don’t feel safe in their own rooms.
