DPMO has released the following statement
of policy regarding retrieval and identification of war remains.
DEPARTMENT
OF DEFENSE POLICY REGARDING
THE
RECOVERY AND IDENTIFICATION OF
REMAINS
OF MISSING PERSONNEL
The goal of the Department
of Defense (DoD) is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for all
personnel lost as the result of hostile action while serving the United States.
This policy sets forth procedures for the recovery and identification of
remains of personnel missing as a result of hostile action. The policy also
outlines procedures to distinguish those individuals for whom identifiable
remains cannot be recovered.
Recovery and
Identification of Remains
In the event the missing
person has died, the United States government strives to recover and identify
the missing person's remains. The U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory,
Hawaii (CILHI) is tasked with this mission. Identifications fall into two broad
categories.
Identifications relying
on unique physical characteristics to establish identity. These unique physical
characteristics include: fingerprints, radiographic comparisons (especially
dental), DNA, and visual identification. Due to the skeletal nature of many
remains recovered from past wars, dental radiographic comparisons are the most
common means of positive identification employed.
Identifications relying
on lines of evidence other than unique physical characteristics to establish
identity. These lines of evidence can be extensive and commonly include the
results of: skeletal (anthropological) analysis, dental analysis, mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA) analysis, incident (e.g., crash site) analysis, and artifact
analysis, in addition to eyewitness accounts and circumstantial evidence. Given
the amount and condition of remains often recovered from remote areas of loss
and the time that often has elapsed since the loss incident, these lines of
evidence assume an important role in the identifications made by the CILHI.
Specific criteria used for such identifications may include:
a.
A demonstrable chain of custody: Remains must be accounted for from the time
they are recovered by the United States through their final
disposition.
b.
Biological consistency with the known characteristics of the individual
concerned and the circumstances of loss: An example would be a recovered bone
fragment from an adult male that shows signs of traumatic fracture; such would
be consistent with a missing pilot known to have been in an aircraft crash.
c.
Supporting material evidence: Recovered artifacts, such as personal effects or
aircraft wreckage that support the identification.
d.
Supporting historical documents: United States records of the loss incident,
battlefields, last-known positions, etc., support the identification.
e.
Eyewitness accounts: Eyewitness accounts by surviving members of a mission
and/or by enemy or indigenous personnel that are supportive in nature and could
not have been derived from information previously supplied by any U.S.
official.
f.
Circumstances that place a particular person in a particular place at a
particular time: Circumstances, analysis of material and information combine to
reliably link the individual whose remains are being identified with the
location and date of loss.
g.
Lack of contradictory evidence: No compelling evidence contradicts the results
of comprehensive laboratory analysis and reliable circumstantial evidence that
support the identification.
When completed, the
CILHI Identification Report on either category of identification must be
presented to the Person Authorized to Direct Disposition (PADD) for the missing
person. The PADD has the right to appeal the identification to the Armed Forces
Identification Review Board (AFIRB), and in exceptional circumstances, as
directed by the Director, DPMO, the PADD shall be afforded the opportunity to
submit remains for private mtDNA testing only when the U.S. Government has used
mtDNA testing as part of its identification and additional testing will not
wholly consume the remains.
Compelling Evidence that
remains are not recoverable
The circumstances of
loss (e.g., high-speed jet aircraft crash, over water, explosion), time that
has elapsed since the loss incident, changes to the terrain feature, lack of
eyewitnesses, and the harsh effects of the environment may make it impossible
to recover the remains of missing personnel. DoD analysts review such cases to
determine whether the available evidence provides proof that the missing
individual's remains cannot be recovered. After thorough analytic review, if
remains are determined to be non-recoverable, the Director, Defense POW/Missing
Personnel Office (DPMO) will direct no further pursuit of such cases. DPMO
shall forward notification to the PADD that active efforts to resolve the case
will cease. In the event that new information becomes available to indicate
remains might be recoverable, active efforts to resolve the case will be
resumed.
Approved,
//signed//
Robert L. Jones
Deputy Assistant
secretary of Defense
(POW/Missing Personnel
Affairs)