The commanding officer of any unit of the National Guard is the legal custodian of the money, property, and effects of the unit, whether the property is owned by the unit, or its members collectively, or has been issued to it or any of its officers, for its use, by the state or by the authority of the United States. The commanding officer may sue for the recovery and possession of any such property that is wrongfully withheld from the commanding officer's custody or the custody of the unit.
S.D. Codified Laws § 33-12-9
Commanding officer as legal custodian of property--Authorization to sue for recovery
Source: SL 1903, ch 185, § 24; SL 1917, ch 297, § 25; RC 1919, § 10578; SDC 1939, § 41.0131; SL 2007, ch 187, § 114.
Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.