DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE POLICY ON PRIVATE CITIZENS
VISITING INCIDENT EXCAVATION SITES

     Achieving the fullest possible accounting for service members missing as a result of hostile actions is one of the United States’ highest priorities. A large measure of our concerns and efforts are focused on providing families of our unaccounted-for with the answers about their loved ones. We are also fully cognizant of the interest family members and other non-Department of Defense (DoD) personnel have in our mission and understand that some desire to be present during fieldwork involving the case of their loved one. It is within the context of the above and the considerations outlined below that we have developed the following DoD policy on visits to active sites by non-DoD personnel.

     Should non-DoD personnel, especially family members, decide to visit an active excavation site despite the hardships and difficulties associated with such an undertaking, the United States Government (USG) cannot accept liability or responsibility for providing arrangements for guides, interpreters, drivers, vehicles, housing accommodations, etc. Additionally, non-DoD personnel requiring any intercession with the host government on their behalf must do so through normal Department of State (DoS) and embassy channels. When properly coordinated and scheduled, field operating agencies will assist visiting non-DoD personnel on an “as possible” basis so long as such assistance does not interfere with on-going operations. This assistance is normally limited to providing Primary Next of Kin briefings on their specific case, background material, or advice. The USG does not accept liability or responsibility for any aspect of the visit by a non-DoD individual.

     DoD will consider exceptions to this policy only in those cases where the individual(s) has direct personal knowledge that is pertinent to the investigation or excavation in question, and that knowledge or expertise is not available from any other source. In special cases, USG analysts may actually solicit on site assistance from private citizens who possess unique knowledge regarding a specific case. Service casualty officers should direct the concerned family member and private citizens who believe they possess such information and wish to visit the site to provide justification, in writing, to the appropriate service casualty office. The requester should provide details as to why the USG should grant an exception to policy, the details of their request, and what pertinent information they possess which could assist in bringing this particular case(s) to resolution. The service casualty office will forward this request to DPMO for analysis and consideration. DPMO, in coordination with other concerned Government agencies, including DoD field operating agencies, will develop and forward a response based upon operational and safety considerations, to that individual through the appropriate service casualty office.

     In the course of our pursuit for the fullest possible accounting, DoD employs a wide array of investigative methods which often include field site surveys, excavations, witness interviews, and many other associated investigative techniques of which most occur in sovereign nations other than the United States. All aspects of investigations and excavations demand a high degree of concentration and perseverance by our trained investigators. Many involve activities that are often physically hazardous, strenuous, and time sensitive. DoD field operating agencies investigating cases and excavating sites associated with unaccounted-for Americans are not resourced to support non- DoD visitors administratively, medically, or logistically.

     Because these activities are conducted in foreign sovereign countries the host countries are the approving authority for U.S. citizens entry into their territories. A host country controls all entry and exit authority and, in nations such as Vietnam, Laos, and North Korea this authority controls movement by foreigners within their borders. DoD has no role in approving or seeking the approval for access by non-DoD personnel into those countries hosting our accounting operations. Such personnel wishing to visit an active site must acquire the requisite permission to enter a host country using the normal Department of State (DoS) procedures.

     As stated above, U.S./DoD teams often investigate and excavate cases under very arduous conditions. Conditions are sometimes so severe that the Congress has recently approved resumption of “hazardous location” pay for DoD personnel participating in these field activities. Extremes in heat, poisonous snakes and insects, dangerous terrain, unsanitary conditions, adverse weather conditions, and a total lack of medical facilities meeting even the most basic standards to which Americans are accustomed, make for an inhospitable environment even to trained personnel. Medical evacuations necessitated by medical emergencies involving our investigation and excavation teams are greatly compounded due to poor or non-existent transportation networks within the countries. Each team is assigned one emergency medical technician. The team cannot operate unless themedic is on-site since safety of our personnel in the field is of paramount concern.

     In addition to the extreme conditions under which the DoD teams work, the timing and duration of many field activities are unpredictable. In Southeast Asia, Joint Task Force Full Accounting (JTF-FA) develops a work plan for each joint field activity (JFA) but routinely schedules more cases than can possibly be completed to give the teams alternative work options if problems occur with the programmed cases. Additionally, such planning provides additional cases if scheduled activities take less time to complete than anticipated. Site correlation to a specific case is not always certain until the investigation or excavation is complete and analysts have thoroughly examined the findings. The subsequent analysis can take days, months, or in some events, years. Fieldwork schedules also change often because of weather or other factors with little or no notice. Travel to an excavation site is always costly, is sometimes difficult and dangerous, and provides no guarantee that fieldwork will occur according to plans.

     DoD considers all field activities to be active investigations that must be protected as any on-going investigation. Results of such investigations will not be released until an investigation has been completed and its findings thoroughly analyzed. The nature of this work closely parallels the process by which many police investigations are conducted except it has additional complications imposed by the time passage, weather exposure, and difficult war-induced circumstances. DoD personnel investigating cases or excavating sites must maintain strict control over the integrity of the site and any evidence uncovered. Any interference by non-DoD visitors, no matter how well intentioned they may be will severely jeopardize the resolution of the case and risk the loss of valuable evidentiary chains of command.