POLICY GUIDELINES REGARDING "ADULT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY,"
“MEMBER OF THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY,” AND “OTHER NEXT OF KIN”
FOR ACCESS TO POW/MIA RELATED INFORMATION

     Current laws and Department of Defense Instruction include references to the terms “adult member of the family,” member of the immediate family,” and “other next of kin.” This memorandum provides guidelines for the purpose of document release as it pertains to the above mentioned terms.

     Title 50 USC § 435 “Note” (the McCain Bill), (para. (b) (3) (B)) grants access to information pertaining to location, treatment, and condition to the “adult member of the family” of an unaccounted-for individual from the Korean Conflict, Cold War, and the Vietnam War. The bill does not, however, define the term “adult member of the family” (Attachment 1).

     Title 10 USC Chapter 76 (the Missing Persons Act) (MPA) refers to “member of the immediate family” when granting access to related information. The Act does provide a definition of the term “member of the immediate family” (§ 1513 (5) (A)-(E)) (Attachment 2).

     The DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1300.18, “Military Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies, and Procedures,” provides a definition of “other next of kin” (para. 25) with regard to the release of records (Attachment 3).

     The DoD policy with regard to the provision of records to family members is that such requests will be treated in the spirit of openness and pro-release. Therefore, for the purposes of determining redaction/release requirements to family members of the unaccounted-for person, the terms “adult member of the family,” “member of the immediate family,” and “other next of kin” will be defined in the broadest terms possible. The McCain Bill (para. (b) (3) (B)) affords any adult member of the family rights and privileges for “access to any record or information” as it relates to their specific unaccounted-for person despite the personal desires of the PNOK.

     With regard to the McCain Bill, the term “adult member of the family” will be defined using the broadest definition for each sub-category contained in the MPA and the DoDI. The terms, subject to the limitations in the definitions contained in the statute and DoDI, include parents, sisters, brothers, spouse, children, grandparents, and grandchildren of the unaccounted-for person. Except in the case of unusual circumstances nieces, nephews, cousins, and other distant relatives of this nature are not considered to be included in the terms. As prescribed in the McCain Bill (para. (b) (3) (B)) and following the pro-release concept, DPMO will, however, apply the most liberal application possible and extend the rights afforded to adult members of the family and members of the immediate family to other next of kin as appropriate when coordinated with the respective service casualty office. Therefore, as stated in section (2)(B)(b) the PNOK “yes” “no” decision applies only to information being made available to the public and not to the adult member of the family.

     Individuals not included in the above defined terms requesting information on unaccounted-for persons should be referred to the Library of Congress (LoC) in the case of Vietnam-era unaccounted-for or the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the case of Korean Conflict and Cold War-era unaccounted- for or follow the formal Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request process, although this is not a requirement. Access to information will be granted to individuals other than family members on primary-next-of-kin “yes” unaccounted-for persons as prescribed by the provisions of 50 USC § 435 Note.

     Regardless of the requesters’ relationship to the unaccounted-for person, all material must be reviewed for privacy (FOIA (b)(6)), “McCain” ((b)(3)), and other statutory (b)(3) provisions as prescribed in 5 USC § 552 (FOIA).

     The primary-next-of-kin (PNOK) has full access to unclassified/declassified records and related documents. Documents are not redacted for “privacy” information concerning the unaccounted-for person. However, redactions must be made when information pertains to another unaccounted-for person if said individual is a “PNOK no” under the provisions of the McCain Bill. The (b)(3) FOIA statutory exemption will be used when redacting McCain Bill information. Additionally, all redactions for privacy will use the (b)(6) exemption. The status of the unaccounted-for person does not apply in this case.

     If the request comes from a “member of the immediate family, adult member of the family, or other next of kin,” all privacy information associated with the unaccounted-for person is redacted. Additional redactions must be made when information pertains to another unaccounted-for person if said individual is a “PNOK no” under the provisions of the McCain Bill. The (b)(3) FOIA exemption will be used when redacting McCain Bill information. Additionally, all redactions for privacy will use the (b)(6) exemption. The status of the unaccounted-for person does not apply in this case.

     If the request comes from an “interested party” not related to the unaccounted- for, and the unaccounted-for is a “PNOK yes” under the provisions of the McCain Bill, all attempts should be made to refer the individual to the LoC or NARA. If, for some reason, referral to the LoC or NARA is not an option, all privacy-related information must be redacted prior to release. Additional redaction must be made when information pertains to another unaccounted-for person if said individual is a “PNOK no” under the provisions of the McCain Bill. The (b)(3) FOIA exemption will be used when redacting McCain Bill information. All redactions for “privacy” will use the (b)(6) exemption. Under no circumstances should information associated with location, treatment, and condition be provided to an “interested party” when the unaccounted-for person is a “PNOK no” under the McCain Bill provision.

     These guidelines apply whether the request for information is processed as a family request, FOIA request, or as a matter of answering general correspondence requests for information. DoD policy does not require the families of the unaccounted- for individuals to file a FOIA request to gain access to information regarding their loved one.