CAMP PENDLETON (KGTV) — A military youth group says someone with access to the Camp Pendleton base stole thousands of dollars worth of its equipment.
Valencia Jones is trying to figure out why someone on the base is stealing from the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a non-profit military youth program she helps run at Camp Pendleton.
Jones works to inspire tomorrow's military leaders, hoping to bring them closer to the future they want. The group has 11 members, ranging from 10-18 years old.
"She's amazing, I love her so much," sea cadet Jennalei Domingo says of Jones. "She's always there. She's caring and she does so much for us. I'm so grateful for her."
Which is why cadets like Domingo are frustrated with the recent thefts.
"It really hurt to the core," Jones says. "For people to take things from a nonprofit youth group that wants to be like the military, it hurts."
According to Camp Pendleton officials, the group's equipment has been stolen twice. Once in mid-October, and then again two weeks later on October 29.
"That's the equipment that we use," sea cadet Joseph Wells said. "It kind of sucks to see that because we were going to do a lot more drills."
Jones estimates the thieves took somewhere between $8,000-10,000 worth of stuff.
"Cadets now don't have uniforms. We've had training gear, backpacks, compass airsoft rifles (stolen). All the gear that we use for our field leadership training. They have taken all that gear."
For the cadets, it hurts more to know that the thief, or thieves, could be a person they admire.
"We try and look up to them," Jess Lopez, a 14-year-old cadet says.
Lacking enough funding to replace the items, Jones and the cadets are weighing their options, and trying to figure out how to get new gear. Jones hopes this is the last time someone takes advantage of them.
"It's stealing from the cadets that are trying to grow up to be our future leaders," she says. "But they are taking away that opportunity by taking things from them."
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to help the group.
