This last weekend (the 13th through 15th June), the Auxiliary completed an annual deployment exercise, testing its call-up system, check-in and staging, and then remaining in the field for 24 hours. During this time, we conducted nighttime cattle patrols and daylight reconnaissance covering over 200 square miles of Lawrence County.
The initial communication should outline the complaint, advise the suspect of their rights, outline the process which will be followed, and tell them what the next steps shall be (e.g.):
In the middle of a deployment or emergency, this initial process can be handled by a Commander's Mast. A Commander's Mast is an official meeting during a deployment conducted by the Commander (Acting Commander, or the Sheriff) where certain formal matters can be heard. This process is based on the traditional Navy "Captain's Mast" but is more or less our own process. Matters which may be heard by a Mast include:
When a formal disciplinary process needs to be initiated for conduct in uniform or for prohibited off-duty conduct, the Auxiliary's process is based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice: the same rules used by the military and uniformed service branches. Missouri's version of the UCMJ is defined by Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 40 (RsMO 40), "Military Justice", and is required for the Missouri National Guard (when not in Federal service) and Missouri State Guard.
Auxiliary volunteers are considered to be members of the Sheriff's Office and are therefore subject to some of the same disciplinary procedures as reserve or full-time deputies. In general, the Sheriff may always elect to handle a disciplinary matter within the Sheriff's Office rather than within the Auxiliary, and this is particularly likely if either key staff officers are involved or enough key officers are witnesses to a matter that a fair disciplinary process within the Auxiliary is unlikely.