Military Law Division An administrative report is not a complicated or legally technical document. On the contrary, it is an official letter by a commanding officer, or an officer detailed by him to investigate a given occurrence, addressed to the Secretary of the Navy (Office of the Judge Advocate General), and forwarded via regular channels. It is used to report those occurrences which, though requiring a report, do not require a formal investigation. Not all injuries to individuals or damage to materiel require a report. On the other hand, some such occurrences require a more searching and complete investigation, including the taking of sworn testimony. In the latter event a court of inquiry or board of investigation may be convened, or a formal investigation ordered. The first decision which must be made, therefore, is whether the occurrence is of a nature serious enough to require any report. If it is, it must then be determined which of the foregoing procedures will be employed. Since a large number of injuries to personnel and materiel occur throughout the Navy, many of which are of a very minor nature, it is generally a matter of discretion and good judgment as to whether a report should be submitted at all. If, however, the occurrence involves the death of naval personnel from other than natural causes or enemy action; or a member of the naval service has been seriously injured, particularly when such injury is likely to cause a disability of a permanent chaiacter; or if there has been a large loss or serious damage to government property; or there has been injury to civilian persons or property which may give rise to a claim against the government; then an administrative report or more formal investigation will be required. The advantage of employing an administrative report rather than one of the more formal investigative procedures is selfevident. Its use saves considerable paper work and the time and effort of personnel. Its submission is encouraged where the facts surrounding the given incident are clear and there is no reason why sworn testimony 12 should be preserved. It should generally be employed unless the circumstances of the occurrence are unusual, the facts various and complicated, or unless a crime has been committed, criminality suspected, or serious blame incurred. Chapter X of Naval Courts and Boards and the Secretary of the Navy's letter of 20 September 1944 (N. D. Bul. Cum. Ed. 1944, 44-1107, p. 59) set forth the factors involved in determining what kind of investigation or report should be used. These references are intended primarily for the guidance of officers empowered to order a formal investigation and upon whom rests the responsibility for deciding what kind of procedure should be employed. If the commanding officer of the unit in which a particular event took place is not empowered to order a formal investigation, and if he considers that an administrative report is not appropriate in the particular case, he should notify his superior-in-command of the circumstances. Sufficient facts should be given to the superior-in-command to permit him to make a correct determination, in accordance with the two references mentioned above, whether or not a formal investigation should be ordered. If the commanding officer is reasonably certain that an administrative report will be sufficient, or if his superior-in-command directs that such a report be made, the preparation of the report should begin forthwith. The administrative report should contain a full and detailed account of the occurrence. Enclosed with it should be the signed statements of witnesses to the event, and the originals or certified copies of all other pertinent documents. The report is Scrutinized by each reviewing officer for evidence of fault or criminality on the part of naval personnel. As it travels up the chain of command, each reviewing authority may cause appropriate disciplinary action to be taken or may make recommendations to his seniors. When the report is received in the Office of the Judge Advocate General, it is handled by the Military Law Division. Re ports concerning death or injury to naval personnel are reviewed and a final determination made as to the misconduct status of the deceased or injured person. In cases of death due to a deceased's own misconduct, the six months pay gratuity is not paid to his beneficiaries. In cases of injuries and disease due to a person's own misconduct, time lost from duty must be made good. If the injury, disease, or death was not the result of the person's own misconduct and was incurred while he was in the active service of the naval forces, irrespective of whether he was actually performing his assigned duties or was on authorized liberty or leave, a finding of line of duty is mandatory. This is true whether or not the injury, disease, or death was service-connected. Despite this, however, a finding of not misconduct, and not line of duty is not necessarily inconsistent. A finding that disease, injury or death was due to the person's own misconduct makes mandatory a finding that it was incurred not in line of duty since the holding that an act was misconduct is always inconsistent with a holding that the act was performed in line of duty. Normally the Judge Advocate General makes no determination of line of duty because the necessity of making such a determination does not arise until a naval board considers the case or some other branch of the government takes cognizance of the matter. At such time, the line of duty finding is made by the administrative body considering the case. This finding is based primarily upon the facts contained in the administrative report where such has been submitted in lieu of a more formal investigation, and sometimes is made years after the event in question. The importance of including a complete report of the pertinent facts and the opinion of the reporting officer as to line of duty is self-evident. Without them the administrative body is seriously handicapped in arriving at its findings. Since the misconduct determination is the only action taken by the Judge Advocate General, a determination as to the legality of an administrative report is not made. If, however, the report contains matter prejudicial to the record of an officer, the Judge Advocate General requests that the Chief of Naval Personnel or Commandant of the Marine Corps insure that the officer be afforded an opportunity to make a statement. Subsequent to their receipt in the Office of the Judge Advocate General, administrative reports are forwarded to appropriate bureaus and offices for information and action. For example, reports of deficiencies in ships are forwarded by the Judge Advocate General to the Bureau of Ships; reports of aircraft materiel deficiencies to the Bureau of Aeronautics. Many of these reports are forwarded to the Chief of Naval Operations when the subject matter is deemed to be of interest to him. The Chief of Naval Personnel or the Commandant of the Marine Corps reviews all reports in which Naval or Marine Corps personnel are involved. Death and injury reports are also forwarded by the Judge Advocate General to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. In those cases in which a civilian is injured or civilian property damaged by a naval agency, there may be grounds for a claim against the United States. In many instances, the administrative report is the only source of information available for the defense of the interests of the government. The General Law Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General sometimes predicates its recommendation for settlement or resistance of the claim solely on the administrative report. A claim for statutory benefits based upon employment relationship or status, arising out of the death or injury of civilian employees of the government or members of the Naval or Marine Corps Reserve not on extended active duty in excess of thirty days is not handled by the Navy Department but by the Federal Security Agency, although the opinion of the Navy Department is frequently requested. It is readily apparent that the chief function of the administrative report is to apprise all who may be concerned of the facts of the case. The importance of including all of the pertinent facts in the report cannot be over-stressed. A more complete discussion of the administrative report, misconduct, and line of duty than appear in Naval Courts and Boards is contained in Chapter 16 of Naval Justice. Naval Justice is a publication prepared under the supervision of the Military Law Division of the Office of the Judge Advocate General for use as a text book on naval law and as a practical manual in the administration of naval discipline. Based on materials developed at the school of Naval Justice, Port Hueneme, California, it is not widely distributed and is not citable in judicial proceedings, but the information contained in it should be of assistance. In it there are two samples of administrative reports for the guidance of reporting officers. The administrative report is not intended to replace, in all cases, the more formal investigative procedures. In fact, even where an administrative report is used, a reviewing officer may sometimes order a more formal investigation, basing his decision to do so on the information contained in the administrative report. Wherever 'it is appropriate, however, use of the administrative report has been encouraged by the Secretary of the Navy in the interest of efficiency. The preparation of a good administrative report requires much thought, study, and careful fact finding. While the preparation of such a report may not be easy, there is nothing mysterious about it, and it requires common sense and conscientiousness rather than high technical knowledge. The following check list is suggested to aid the reporting officer in avoiding the 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Signed statements of available witnesses (not merely police reports or other documents of a hearsay character where witnesses are available)? Statements of witnesses other than those of the persons involved where such witnesses are available? Photographs (where the nature of the case makes them desirable)? A diagram or map (where the nature of the case makes it desirable)? The names, rates, and service numbers of all naval personnel involved directly or indirectly? The date and time of death or injury? Original or certified copies of: police reports, shore patrol reports, service record book entries, death certificates (where appropriate)? 10. The following in auto accident cases: speed; condition of road, traffic, weather, and vehicles; traffic laws and regulations; sobriety of drivers? Legislative Counsel The following laws which relate in one way or another to the Navy or its personnel were passed by the 80 th Congress in its first session. It is hoped that space will permit us to print the titles of all bills and brief explanations of the more pertinent of them. Here is the first installment. Public Law 5, approved Feb. 21, 1947, "To amend the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, as amended”. Public Law 21, approved Mar. 26, 1947, "To provide for payment and settlement of mileage and other travel allowance accounts of military personnel ". Public Law 27, approved Mar. 31, 1947, "Authorizing the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard to waive compliance with the navigation and vessel-inspection laws administered by the Coast Guard". Public Law 28, approved Mar. 31, 1947, "To provide for the suspension of navigation and vessel-inspection laws, as applied to vessels operated by the War Department, upon termination of title V, Second War Powers Act, 1942, as amended". Public Law 29, approved Mar. 31, 1947, "To extend certain powers of the President under title III of the Second War Powers Act". Public Law 34, approved Apr. 15, 1947, 14 "To amend existing law to provide privilege of renewing expiring five-year level-premium term policies for another five-year period". Public Law 36, approved Apr. 16, 1947, "To establish a permanent Nurse Corps of the Army and Navy and to establish a Women's Medical Specialist Corps in the Army". Public Law 49, approved May 14, 1947, "To relieve employers from certain liabilities and punishments under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, the WalshHealey Act, and the Bacon-Davis Act, and for other purposes". (Public Law 49 is the law which eliminated all suits for back pay under the portal-to-portal pay ruling by the Supreme Court. The Navy Department had underwritten many contracts with private firms on a cost-plus-a- fixed- fee basis. Had these portal-to-portal pay suits been allowed, the Navy Department would have had to pay out the amount of the recovery in many cases.) Public Law 50, approved May 15, 1947, "To correct an error in the Act approved August 10, 1946 (Public Law 720, Seventy-ninth Congress, second session), relating to the composition of the Naval Reserve". Public Law 55, approved May 15, 1947, "To amend further the Pay Readjustment Act of 1942, as amended". Public Law 56, approved May 15, 1947, "To establish a Chief of Chaplains in the United States Navy, and for other purposes". Public Law 57, approved May 15, 1947, "To amend the Act entitled An Act providing for the reorganization of the Navy Department, and for other purposes', approved June 20, 1940, to amend the Act entitled 'An Act authorizing the President to appoint an Under Secretary of War during national emergencies, fixing the compensation of the Under Secretary of War, and authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe duties', approved December 16, 1940, as amended, and for other purposes". Public Law 58, approved May 15, 1947,"To amend the Aet of July 20, 1942 (56 Stat. 662), relating to the acceptance of decorations, orders, medals, and emblems by officers and enlisted men of the armed forces of the United States tendered them by governments of cobelligerent nations or other American Republics". (Public Law 58 - the effect is to amend the Act of July 20, 1942, which authorized members of the armed serv ices to accept decorations, orders, medals, and emblems from allied of cobelligerent nations, so that members of the armed services could also accept decorations, etc., from neutral nations which had tendered them. At the time the bill was under discussion it affected (in the Navy) only five naval officers and one Marine Corps officer). Public Law 61, approved May 15, 1947. "To amend the Act approved December 28, 1945 (59 Stat. 663), entitled 'An Act to provide for the appointment of additional commissioned officers in the Regular Army, and for other purposes', as amended by the Act of August 8, 1946, " (Public Law 670, 79th Congress). Public Law 62, approved May 16, 1947, "To amend the Act of August 29, 1916 (39 Stat. 556), as amended, so as to increase the total authorized number of commissioned officers of the active list of the Corps of Civil Engineers of the Navy". Public Law 63, approved May 16, 1947, "To authorize the construction of experimental submarines, and for other purposes". "To Public Law 72, approved May 19, 1947, limit the time within which the General Accounting Office shall make final settlement of the monthly or quarterly accounts of fiscal officers, and for other purposes". Public Law 75, approved May 22, 1947, "To provide for assistance to Greece and Turkey". Public Law 82, approved May 31, 1947,"To amend an Act of September 27, 1944, relating to credit for military or naval service in connection with certain homestead entries". (Public Law 82, the Act of September 27, 1944, as amended by the Act of June 25, 1946 gave veterans of World War II and their dependents certain special privileges in respect to public lands. For instance, all veterans are given up to two years credit for their armed service and can deduct this from the time which they must stay on the land in order to obtain a title, and wounded veterans are given the two-year credit irrespective of the time they served in the armed services.) Public Law 84, approved May 31, 1947. "Providing for relief assistance to the people.of countries devasted by war ". Public Law 85, approved May 31, 1947, "To amend section 502(a) of the Act entitled 'An Act to expedite the provision of housing in connection with national defense, and for 15 other purposes'". (Public Law 82 amends this in several minor ways defining World War II as starting September 14, 1940; by allowing a spouse, either husband or wife, to count his or her armed service in connection with settlement on the land by his or her respective wife or husband; and by changing the application of the Small Tract Act of June 1, 1938, to veterans.) Public Law 93, approved June 14, 1947, "To extend until June 30, 1949, the period of time during which persons may serve in certain executive departments and agencies without being prohibited from acting as counsel, agent, or attorney for prosecuting claims against the United States by reason of having so served". Public Law 96, approved June 20, 1947, "To amend section 17 of the Pay Readjustment Act of 1942, so as to increase the pay of cadets and midshipmen at the service academies, and for other purposes". Public Law 126, approved June 28, 1947, "To extend the period of validity of the Act to facilitate the admission into the United States of the alien fiancees or fiances of members of the armed forces of the United States". Public Law 127, approved June 28, 1947, "To continue temporary authority of the Maritime Commission until March 1, 1948". Public Law 128, approved June 28, 1947, "To stimulate volunteer enlistments in the Regular Military Establishment of the United States". Public Law 134, approved June 30, 1947, "To permit certain naval personnel to count all active service rendered under temporary appointments as warrant or commissioned officers in the United States Navy and the United States Naval Reserve, or in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Marine Corps Reserve, for purposes of promotion to commissioned warrant officer in the United States Navy or the United States Marine Corps, respectively". |