SCMO

This week I got assigned as a Summary Court Martial Officer (SCMO, pronounced "sco-mo"). Sounds impressive, until you find out what it actually means.

Then a soldier dies, whether deployed or in garrison, an SCMO is appointed to inventory his personal effects (PE) and remit them to the "person eligible to receive effects" (PERE, pronounced "Perry").

In this case, a soldier had passed away after returning from overseas to visit his family. Though this took place in another state, it fell to me to contact his unit and see if he had anything there. If he had, I would drive out to where he had mobilized (at government expense) and conduct an inventory. Afterward, I'd make the arrangements for his stuff to be sent to the appropriate person.

In this case, however, there's a 95 percent chance that nothing will turn up. I'll contact his unit in two weeks to ask again if anything had turned up, but if by 30 days after there's still nothing, I'll complete a one-page memo and my job will be finished.

Easy enough.