Background: He joined the Army roughly about year ago and is currently stationed at Fort Cavazos. My sister (his mom) called me recently concerned because he used to be good about calling home every few days, but the past few weeks she’s barely heard from him. The base history there isn’t really helping her, either. Here’s what she’s told me so far…

1. He’s about 20, and for some reason is rooming with a dude in his 40’s in the barracks. Maybe this is normal in the Army, but in the Air Force I can’t think of many reasons why someone in their 40’s would be living in the dorms CONUS unless they were a problem child and made to move into them. It just seems like a weird situation to me, but if that’s normal please let me know.

2. He recently lost his CAC, though he made a comment that someone may have took it from him. He was extremely concerned he was going to get an Article 15 for this - is that normal for the Army? I’ve lost my CAC a couple of times in he Air Force and just got a little slap on the wrist and told to be more careful.

3. My sister got an inappropriate text from him, which resulted in him apologizing and stating a couple of his friends took his phone and were messing with him. Maybe they are some good friends, but he’s little bit of a quiet, non-confrontational kid and I’m afraid that could make him an easy target for bullying.

4. Like I said, he’s barely contacting my sister anymore. I know this is normal for a lot of people who join once they’re out on their own…hell I was the same way. But it’s all happened in a very short amount of time and with everything else going on, it just makes me worried.

5. Lastly, he was recently delinquent on a car (edit: truck, not car) payment, and is apparently constantly broke. The vehicle issue was apparently due to a legitimate issue with his bank, but I am concerned that he’s struggling financially. Are there any Army resources that I can direct him to? He doesn’t like asking for help so I’m doubtful I can convince him to go, but it’s worth a shot.

At the end of the day I know everything could be fine, he might just be busy and is adjusting to being in the Army and coming into his own. My sister told me she doesn’t even know who to reach out to in the case of an emergency, and I told her as a LAST resort who to call. I told her that it can look bad for him though, so only do it as a last resort cause that can cause other problems for him. Any other advice or suggestions that I can pass to either of them would be extremely welcomed. I don’t want to embarrass him, but I still remember him as my sweet baby nephew and I just want to make sure he’s ok. TIA.