D.C. Code § 49-203
Every officer and enlisted man to whom property of the United States has been issued shall be personally responsible to the United States for such property, and no one shall be relieved from such responsibility except it be shown to the satisfaction of the Commanding General that the loss or destruction of such property was unavoidable and in no way the fault of the person responsible for the same; and in all other cases the value of the property lost or destroyed shall be charged against the person at fault or to the organization to which it has been issued, and such person or organization, if not relieved from such charge by the Commanding General, shall pay the value of such property to the Quartermaster General within 1 year after such loss or destruction. The value of lost or destroyed property and the person or organization to be charged therewith shall be determined by a board to consist of an inspector of the staff of the Commanding General of the militia and the commanding officer of the organization in which such property is lost. In case of disagreement such value shall be fixed by the Commanding General of the militia.
D.C. Code § 49-203