PREPARED STATEMENT by Brig. Gen. Daniel A. DOHERTY, USA

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss death investigations by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command.

The United States Army Criminal Investigation Command is a major Army command consisting of 721 highly trained military agents stationed worldwide. All agents come under the command of the Commander, United States Army Criminal Investigation Command. As Commander of the United States Criminal Investigation Command, I am authorized to communicate directly with the Secretary of the Army, the Army General Counsel, the Department of Defense Inspector General, the Department of the Army Inspector General, and all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

The mission of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command is to investigate all Army related felonies (offenses punishable by death or confinement for more than 1 year). An Army interest exists when (1) the crime is committed on a military installation or facility; (2) there is a reasonable basis to believe the suspect may be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice or the suspect may be a Department of Defense employee who has committed an offense in connection with his or her duties; (3) the Army is the victim of the crime; or (4) there is a need to protect personnel, property, or activities on Army installations from criminal conduct on military installations that has a direct adverse effect on the Army's ability to accomplish its mission. Included within this mission is the responsibility for investigating all noncombat deaths to the extent necessary to determine whether criminal activity is involved.

To perform this mission, the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command is extremely careful in selecting its agents. To become an enlisted agent, a soldier must be 21 years of age, have a minimum of 2 years military service, have no military or civilian convictions except minor traffic offenses, have 6 months experience as a military policeman or 1 year of experience as a civilian police officer, and have 2 years of college (a minimum of 60 credit hours). An enlisted agent may apply to become a warrant officer agent after serving 2 years as an enlisted agent with the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, demonstrating potential for performing at a higher grade, and obtaining a baccalaureate degree.

Upon selection as an enlisted agent, the soldier attends a demanding 15-week course at the United States Army Military Police School at Fort McClellan, Alabama. This is the longest basic training course of any of the military criminal investigative organizations. The faculty has an average of 18 years of experience in law enforcement with an average education level of 16 years. During this schooling, the prospective agents receive instruction in criminal law, crime-scene processing, testimonial and physical evidence collection, investigative procedures for major crimes, and investigative report writing. Additionally, the school has constructed several mock crime scenes, including one of a death scene. The final exercise of the course involves processing a death scene. Each student must successfully complete this practical exercise prior to graduation. Upon graduation our agents are among the best trained in the world, yet new agents must still complete a 1 year period of apprenticeship receiving additional training and close supervision by experienced agents.

Completing this 15-week course does not end our agents' formal training. Additional training includes investment training that teaches experienced agents advanced skills. For instance, two agents are currently enrolled in George Washington University obtaining master's degrees in forensic science. Additionally, agents participate in sustainment training designed to maintain individual proficiency. For example agents attend local training opportunities offered by state law enforcement agencies or training conducted by mobile training teams from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. We also send agents each year to courses sponsored by Scotland Yard and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy.

During the investigation of a death case our agents use all this training and their experience to ensure that the proper determination is made as to the manner of the death. Initially, all death cases are conducted as though the death was a homicide. This ensures that the investigating agent treats the area where the death occurred as a crime scene. This in turn results in the agent safeguarding the scene; recording the scene in notes, sketches, and photographs; searching the scene for evidence; processing, collecting, and preserving the evidence that is found; and interviewing all appropriate witnesses. During this investigation, the agent also coordinates with the pathologist, line-of-duty administrative investigator, the casualty liaison officer, and the nearest intelligence agency to determine if the victim had access to classified information and if so to determine if any material is missing.

Based upon an evaluation of all available information and evidence gathered during this process, the supervisory agent and the case agent will make a careful determination as to the manner of death. Additionally, throughout the investigation, the agent's team chief, senior agent-in-charge, operations officer at the district level, and the forensic coordinators at higher headquarters review the progress of the investigation and the final report. A team chief is normally a warrant officer with seasoned investigative experience. The senior agent-in-charge is normally a chief warrant officer with over 5 years of investigative experience. Once the review is completed by these two experienced supervisors, the final report is forwarded to the operations officer at the district office responsible for the area where the death occurred. The operations officer there again reviews the final report. This operations officer is a senior warrant officer with over 10 years investigative experience. Upon completion of this review, the final report is forwarded to the group headquarters. Here the report is reviewed by a forensic specialist who has a master's degree in forensic science from George Washington University and who has completed a fellowship in forensic medicine at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. An agent at United States Army Criminal Investigation Command Headquarters next reviews the final report. This agent also has a master's degree in forensic science. The final report is also reviewed by a panel of forensic pathologists assigned to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. If during any of these quality assurance reviews, the reviewing official believes that additional information should be obtained, he or she can return the case file for more investigation.

The investigation as to the manner of the death is not the only involvement by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command. In every death case, a Casualty Liaison Officer is appointed. This knowledgeable person is an agent who is responsible for answering the questions of the victim's next-of-kin to the fullest extent possible without impeding or endangering the successful completion of the investigation. The responsibilities of our Casualty Liaison Officer continue until all issues and concerns are reasonably resolved. In addition, the deceased soldier's commander will also appoint a Casualty Assistance Officer. The dedicated role of this soldier is to assist the next-of-kin during the period immediately following the death, eliminate delays in settling claims and paying survivor benefits, and assist the next-of-kin with other personnel related concerns. Our Casualty Liaison Officer briefs the Casualty Assistance Officer on significant developments during the investigation to provide the most accurate and current information to the family.

Closely related to the information given to the next-of-kin by the Casualty Liaison Officer is the release of the report of the investigation to the family. All members of the public can request copies of records maintained by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command. The release of these records is controlled by the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended, and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended. A request by family members of a suicide victim is treated expeditiously and thus does not fall within the normal processing procedures for requests under these statutes. Additionally, the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command established a toll-free number specifically to facilitate communications with family members.

One issue that is closely related to our investigation of a self-inflicted death is the lack of jurisdiction to investigate certain deaths. Deaths that occur off a military installation fall within the primary jurisdiction of local civilian law enforcement authorities. Although the US. Army has an interest in the death, we have no authority to direct how such off-post investigations are conducted. However, our agents establish and maintain a close working relationship with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies within their area of operations. Furthermore, I am a member of the International Association of the Chiefs of Police and I am a member of their policy committee. These relationships assist the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command in preparing a collateral report based upon information obtained from the civilian agency that conducted the investigation. Our report will include a copy of the civilian agency's completed written report.

As the committee is aware, the Department of Defense Inspector General conducted a detailed investigation into the areas discussed above. The Inspector General reported that the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command has effective procedures, policies and training in place for the conduct of a death investigation. These findings are further supported by the fact that the Department of Defense Inspector General independently reviewed and issued a report on 10 suicide investigations conducted by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command. The Inspector General agreed with our findings in 9 of the 10 cases. In the remaining case three different professional medical examiners from Fort Bragg, the State of North Carolina, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, agreed upon a finding of suicide. The Department of Defense Inspector General opined that the

death was an accident. We believe the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, as outlined above and as verified by this report from the Inspector General, conducts thorough investigations of all suicide cases and maintains procedures for careful review, as well as assistance, to affected family members.

In conclusion, the death of a soldier is a tragic loss felt by the entire Army community. Our soldier-agents are dedicated to properly determining the reason for the loss of life so the Army can prevent future deaths. As a soldier, a commander, and a leader I share the concerns of the families going through the tragedy of a death and my agents will continue to be responsive to the needs of these families. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee today.

Senator KEMPTHORNE. Let me now call upon Mr. Roy Nedrow, director of Naval Criminal Investigative Services.

STATEMENT OF ROY D. NEDROW, DIRECTOR, NAVAL
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE

Mr. NEDROW. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, have a written statement that has been prepared for the record, and I will try to skim over it in my remarks here.

Senator KEMPTHORNE. I appreciate that, and Mr. Nedrow, would you pull the microphone closer, please.

Mr. NEDROW. Yes.

We in the Navy sadly are not immune to the tragic phenomenon of suicide. A military suicide affects us from the newest recruits to our most seasoned leaders. Suicide in the military is not only a human tragedy, it affects our readiness and our morale. I want to commend the families of the military suicide victims for shining a spotlight on this issue. They are right to insist on answers. Their anguish and their disappointment is understandable.

To receive, and in some cases you no doubt have already heard, no answers or conflicting answers is unsatisfactory. The Navy is making every effort to address the concerns of the families, and we certainly believe we are making some progress here.

The Navy and the Marine Corps suicide rate is lower than that of the general population. The Navy has in place suicide prevention and family advocacy programs designated to cope with this difficult problem. I hope that the extensive prepared testimony on these programs submitted for the record by the Chief of Naval Personnel will be helpful to you in this regard.

I can best speak to how we at NCIS investigate our cases. We go about this difficult critical job professionally, objectively, and thoroughly. If I could speak just a moment about us, I am a civilian and career law enforcement official. I have 1,700 personnel in my command, 900 special agents. All of them are civilian, with some exceptions. They are stationed in over 130 locations around the world. We investigate all serious crime in the Department, to include most death cases.

Our special agents are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. This is a world-class institution utilized by 70 Federal law enforcement agencies, to include the Secret Service, the FBI, and Customs.

Our agents receive continued professional training throughout their careers. We provide advanced crime scene and state-of-the-art forensic training to our agent corps, and in addition, we send a small group to the George Washington University to get advanced degrees in forensic science.

Of all of this, the most important thing from our standpoint, if I can only make one point today, is that we treat every death case the same. We do not presuppose suicide. For example, in a case in California that was initially determined to be suicide by local authorities, NCIS subsequently proved murder. The murderer was identified, prosecuted, convicted, and is now on death row.

I have several other examples of cases like that where earlier judgments made by other agencies in death cases have been overturned or reclassified because of our agents' tenacity.

As a matter of fact, we have a resolution rate in homicides of around 85 percent, where the National resolution rate is around 65 percent.

As to our protocol, several possible areas of misperception need to be amplified. As you have heard here today, NCIS does not always control how an investigation is conducted.

We may not have jurisdiction over a case that nonetheless represents important Navy interests, such as a death which occurs offbase. In fact, NCIS has had primary jurisdiction in only about 60 percent of the 906 cases that we have handled over the last 3 years.

Second, medical examiners determine whether or not a death is a suicide, not the investigator. We have no legal authority to determine cause and manner of death. We report the facts and the statements and opinions of others in our file. My agents do not write agent opinions, conclusions, speculations, or theories.

Death investigations are difficult for everyone involved, the families, the friends, the coworkers, and the investigators themselves, but occasionally the families feel their needs and legitimate concerns are not given the respect to which they are entitled.

This is caused by a process that is sometimes confusing. The people who suffer the greatest loss and pain ironically are the people who frequently are left confused and skeptical, and that is the families.

We at the Navy and NCIS are making every effort to overcome this sometimes valid criticism. We are very proud at NCIS that in 1993 we took the lead to make some necessary changes.

We found that the communications between the Navy and the families could be improved, and to that end significantly in 1993 we established the NCIS Family Liaison Office at our headquarters. We assigned two experienced special agents to help family members who until then may not have known where to turn to get their answers.

We discovered a principal problem encountered by the families was that they could not get copies of closed investigations. To fix that problem, we devised a fast track process of getting copies of investigative files in a timely manner while remaining faithful to the constraints imposed by the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act. In fact, now we are proud to say that on average we can get a case out within 4 days after it is closed.

We have created a toll-free 1-800 number that a family can call at NCIS to get quick action. Our Family Liaison Office at this point has handled 125 families, and the caseload is currently 51 families. We do not close cases on the families. The families stop calling us, and that is how we know the case is over.

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In addition to that, we have assigned a special agent with a master's in forensic science to be liaison to us at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. We have two clinical forensic psychologists to assist us as investigators to help determine the circumstances in select cases and, more importantly, maybe, to support the NCIS family liaison statement. We have also established the cold case homicide squad to reinvestigate long-inactive homicide cases, applying a new protocol and new forensic technology that has only been developed in the last 7 or 8 years.

In the first 2 years of this squad's existence, we have closed 15 previously unresolved cases, and have sent 13 of those to State and Federal prosecutors for prosecution. We are very excited about this unit's work.

Finally, we have established a Death Review Board at NCIS. The Death Review Board is composed of three senior special agents. They are the Monday morning quarterbacks. No death investigation is closed until they are satisfied that the case has been properly done.

In short, in 1992 we had one special agent at headquarters reviewing all death investigations for completeness. Today, no less than seven agents scrutinize and provide regular oversight and quality control reviews for each investigation, and that does not count the normal quality control that routinely occurs in the field by field management.

I am pleased that you are looking into how we do our job. I am proud of our professional investigative product. I am proud of our concern and our sensitivity to families, and we are also proud of our leadership in this area.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Nedrow follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ROY D. NEDROW

Mr. Chairman and Members of the committee. I am Roy Nedrow, Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I thank you for this opportunity to appear before you today to help you as you delve into a most difficult and heart-rending issue the matter of military suicides. Sadly, the military is not immune to the tragic phenomenon of suicide. It is a serious issue worthy of the most careful consideration. Military suicides afflict our service men and women from the newest recruits to our seasoned leaders. Suicide in the military is not only a human tragedy, it affects our military's readiness and morale.

I want to commend the families of the military's suicide victims for shining a spotlight on this issue. They are right to insist on answers. Their anguish, disappointment, and skepticism are understandable-to receive-in some cases you no doubt have heard about or will hear about-no answers or conflicting answers is unsatisfactory. The Navy is making every effort to address the concerns of the families, and we sincerely hope that we are making significant progress in this area.

It was due to the families' insistence that they be heard and their concerns be addressed that the House Armed Services Committee examined from 1992 to 1994 the way the military handles suicide-related issues. I welcomed that scrutiny as I assumed my responsibilities as Director of NCIS in December 1992 because I wanted to know if there were ways the Navy and NCIS could do our job better. The House substantially validated our investigative protocols, the thoroughness of our investigations., and the professionalism of our special agents; but, most importantly, they identified ways we could improve our service to survivors of suicide.

The Navy and Marine Corps suicide rate is lower than that of the general population. The Navy has in place suicide prevention and family advocacy programs designed to identify warning signs, prevent, and deal with these tragedies when prevention fails. I hope that the extensive prepared testimony on these programs submitted for the record by the Chief of Naval Personnel will be helpful to you in this regard.