It is important to note that NCIS special agents do not rule a death homicide, accidental or suicide. Only a competent medical examiner, in most cases a civiliana State coroner, for example-may make such a determination. Our agents gather the facts which are then utilized by the medical examiner to make this determination. NCIS reports do not have a statement of conclusion or recommendation or opinion concerning the manner and cause of death. We have no legal authority to determine cause or manner of death. To put this issue in some perspective, in fiscal years 1993 through 1995, we investigated or participated in 906 death investigations. Of these, we had primary jurisdiction and control over 545 cases. Of these, 129 were, judged by medical examiners to be suicide. At the request of families, the DODIG has accepted 26 of our investigations for review. Twelve of these deaths occurred after 1992 and only 6 of these were cases in which NCIS had primary jurisdiction to investigate. These statistics are significant because they illustrate several important points: • First, NCIS does not always control how an investigation is conducted, because we may not always have jurisdiction over a case that nonetheless represents important Navy interests-such as when death occurs off base. We share jurisdiction with a variety of State and Local law enforcement agencies who have law enforcement responsibility in the civilian communities surrounding our installations. The Californía case I just described is a good example of such an investigation. • Second, medical examiners determine whether or not a death is a suicide, not the investigator. We endeavor to gather the facts he or she requires to make that call. We report facts and statements in our files. We do not write opinions, conclusions, speculations and theories; however, we do report the stated opinions, conclusions and theories of others. We have no legal authority to determine cause and manner of death. That responsibility is the province of other authorities, such as the medical examiner. FAMILY LIAISON Death investigations are difficult for everyone involved-families, friends, coworkers and the investigators themselves; but, occasionally and tragically families feel their needs and legitimate concerns are not given the respect to which they are entitled due to a sometimes confusing process. The people who suffer the greatest loss and pain, the people who are most deserving of answers to troubling questions are the people most often left confused and skeptical. Unfortunately, this situation is often most acute in those cases determined to be suicide's. The Navy and NCIS is making every effort to overcome this sometimes valid criticism. In the chain of events that follows the death of a military member, a myriad of agencies, organizations and personnel will interact with the surviving families. Not all of these agencies are military organizations. Local police and medical examiners may be involved. Within the Navy a variety of necessary inquiries into the incident may unfold, all for good reason, but all for very different reasons. The NCIS investigation, for example, has as its objective the gathering of facts to assist competent authority in determining whether foul play was involved, and, if so, who is culpable. Judge Advocate General Manual (JAGMAN) and safety investigations examine other issues, policies and procedures related to the death other than the criminal aspects of the incident. This process, by its very complexity, has unfortunately resulted in fragmented and sometimes confusing information being provided to families. NCIS took the lead for Navy in 1993 to do what we could to make this difficult but necessary process less painful for the survivors. We found that communications between the Navy and the families could be improved. So, in 1993, we established the NCIS Family Liaison Office at NCIS Headquarters. We assigned an experienced special agent full-time to help family members who until then didn't know where to turn to get answers. Due to the volume of work involved we now have a second agent assigned to this important duty. These agents receive specialized training in crisis and bereavement issues from professional institutions and organizations expert in the field. A principal problem encountered by families, we discovered, was that they could not get copies of investigations quickly after they were closed. We devised a "fast track" process of getting copies of investigative files much more quickly to next-ofkin. We modified our system to "red tag" these cases for expeditious processing and release through the legally required process. Our Family Liaison staff assists families in filing these requests, prior to official release, in order to further reduce time delays. In fact, we now release as much information as we can under the law, on average, within 4 days after an investigation is closed. In addition, we attempt to interpret the specialized jargon contained in reports, explain procedures to the families, and why (or why not) certain forensic tests were completed and their relevance to the case. We also provide information to families regarding how to contact local suicide support groups. We created a toll-free 1-800 number next-of-kin can call at the NCIS Family Liaison Office to get quick action. Frequently the questions families have are outside the direct purview of NCIS, but our family liaison agents endeavor, nevertheless, to get the answers from elsewhere in the Navy Department. The families should not have to endure any unnecessary burden on top of what they already must deal with. When we can help we will do our best. Our Family Liaison Office has assisted 125 families since its creation, and the office is currently providing assistance to 51 families. Additionally, in some cases we have gone so far as to fly case agents to personally brief the decedent's family. DRB Establishing the Family Liaison unit only represents one change since 1993. In addition, we have • assigned a special agent, with a Masters in Forensic Sciences, to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, expediting AFIP support to our investigations. • assigned two clinical/forensic psychologists to assist investigators, to help us understand the circumstances in select cases, and to support the NCIS Family Liaison Program. • established a Death Review Board at NCIS Headquarters. • established the Cold Case homicide squad to re-investigate long inactive homicide cases, applying a new protocol and new forensic technology. The Death Review Board is composed of three very senior, experienced special agents who scrutinize for thoroughness each and every investigation determined by the medical examiner to be a suicide. They are my "Monday Morning Quarterbacks." They stringently screen the death case to ensure all possible, reasonable avenues are pursued and relevant investigative tools and practices utilized. No investigation is closed until they are satisfied that it is done properly. Their work is overseen by my Deputy Assistant Director for Criminal Investigations. In short, in 1992 we had one special agent at NCIS Headquarters reviewing all death investigations for completeness. Today, no less than 7 agents scrutinize and provide regular oversight and quality control reviews for each suicide investigation. and that doesn't count quality control that routinely occurs in the field. COLD CASE SQUAD Our Cold Case Squad exemplifies the importance we place on death cases in the Navy and the tenacity with which we pursue the facts in these cases. In September 1995, we established the Cold Case squad to reinvestigate long dormant, inactive, unresolved homicides utilizing a new investigative protocol, new investigative technologies and techniques, and exploiting new potential leads. The Cold Case Squad has resolved 15 homicides since September 1995 of which 13 have gone to prosecution. One of these homicides occurred as far back as 1968. The success of NCIS and the Cold Case Squad were recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police by being selected as semi-finalists this year for the prestigious Webber-Seavy Award-given in recognition of innovative programs in law enforcement. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center has asked NCIS to institute a nationwide training program on the Cold Case Squad investigative protocol for State and local police departments. SUMMARY In summary, I am pleased that you are looking at the way we do our job. I welcome the attention being paid to this issue and to my agency's role in this process, because we are very proud of our professional investigative product, our concern and sensitivity to the families, and our leadership in taking the initiative on this issue. We believe the time, effort and attention given to these tragic cases is well warranted and will lead to our continual improvement. Thank you. Senator KEMPTHORNE. Mr. Nedrow, thank you very much. I think it is worth noting that on your cold case squad I believe one of the homicides occurred as far back as 1968. Mr. NEDROW. That is correct, sir. We just prosecuted one that is 14 years old, and we have several that we believe we are going to bring forward from the late sixties, so we are going over our entire inventory of death cases, which we estimate to be around 3,000 just in the Department of the Navy alone, and of those 3,000 cases we have an inventory of inactive and unresolved of around 250. Senator KEMPTHORNE. All right. Thank you very much. Now we have Brigadier General Francis X. Taylor, Commander, Air Force Office of Special Investigations. STATEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. FRANCIS X. TAYLOR, USAF, COMMANDER, AIR FORCE OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS General TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, good afternoon. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today and to discuss OSI and our approach to death investigations. Let me first express my deepest sympathy to the family members on the loss of their loved ones. We in the Air Force share in their loss, as we are also parents, spouses, brothers and sisters. We know what it is like to lose a loved one. Our most technologically advanced weapons systems rely on people to ensure our country's security. The death of any member of the Air Force team is a loss not only to us but to our Nation. When America's men and women come to us to serve their country, we embrace our responsibility for their welfare. That is in large measure why OSI exists. Our job is to protect the Air Force and its resources, including, and perhaps most especially, its human resources. The Office of Special Investigations is a primary investigative agency for the Air Force. It is dedicated to conducting investigations that are complete, thorough, and investigatively sufficient. We are an organization of over 1,800 people, 1,300 of whom are officer, enlisted, and civilian special agents. We are assigned to almost 180 locations around the world to provide criminal investigative and counterintelligence support to Air Force commanders. Our people are among the best in the Air Force. Our agents are carefully selected after a rigorous screening process. Our enlisted agents come from every Air Force career specialty, and can only apply after their second enlistment. For ROTC and Air Force Academy cadets and graduates, OSI is the second most sought-after career field after pilot training. We are able to draw the most highly qualified candidates from these commissioning programs. Our training is sound, and policies are well-defined. The successful resolution of death investigations is among my highest priorities. When we investigate a death, our job is to find out what happened, and to accurately report the facts and circumstances. We approach these investigations with an open mind, and a willingness to commit the total institutional resources of my command to learning the truth. We often work closely with Federal, State, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies to help ascertain those facts. Our death investigations have benefited from enormous scientific, technical, and professional progress during the past decade. Moreover, we try to learn from all of our investigations and provide feedback to our agents in the field. We have learned, for example, that the traditional investigative approach, although legally sufficient, has not always been responsive to the needs of the families. We looked at the Navy's program as it pertains to working with the families of deceased families and developed one of our own. Our family liaison program, which was implemented over a year ago, provides information to the family about facts and circumstances of the death of their loved one, and more importantly it provides them with an oversight point of contact that they may call for answers to their questions. This program has been well-received, and the feedback I am getting tells me we are doing the right thing. By their nature, death investigations are very complex and can be difficult to resolve to everyone's satisfaction. I am confident in the professionalism of my agents and my organization to perform this difficult mission. I would like to add that the investigative process within OSI is dynamic, and focused on continuous improvement. While we take pride in our work and our professional accomplishments, we still look for ways to improve. I welcome the scrutiny and oversight of our efforts, as it helps us to continually improve a fundamentally sound process. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to address the committee. [The prepared statement of General Taylor follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT BY BRIG. GEN. FRANCIS X. TAYLOR, USAF Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: Good afternoon. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Air Force Office of Special Investigations' policy on investigating deaths of Air Force members. WHO WE ARE The United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is a field operating agency of the United States Air Force. Our headquarters is at Bolling AFB here in the District, and we have operational units at 158 locations world-wide. OSI operates under the direction and guidance of the Air Force Inspector General and consists of 1,889 men and women of whom 1,300 are Special Agents. Our active agent force consists of officers and enlisted personnel as well as civilians. We are augmented by a highly capable corps of more than 400 reservists, many of who serve in state and local law enforcement agencies in their civilian capacities. OSI is organized along Air Force Major Command lines; six of our seven regional offices, each of which is commanded by a Colonel, has investigative responsibility for a Major Command. The seventh region provides specialized investigative support to the Air Force organizations conducting special projects. Each region is further broken down into subordinate detachments, most of which are located on Air Force installations. We have a total of 108 detachments and 50 operating locations around the world. In addition, OSI has a Special Investigations Academy located at Andrews AFB and an Investigative Operations Center at Bolling AFB. The Investigative Operations Center is a national-level field unit that assists other field units in conducting their investigations. WHAT WE DO OSI was established as the Air Force's major criminal investigative agency on August 1, 1948. The Secretary of the Air Force has charged OSI with the responsibility for conducting specialized felony criminal and fraud investigations as well as counterintelligence investigations and operations on behalf of the Air Force. The Secretary has directed me to conduct criminal investigations of any crime that is "of interest to the Air Force." Moreover, as Commander of OSI, I have been delegated the independent authority to initiate criminal investigations under Public Law 99145. Specifically, OSI has the authority to investigate any crime committed by an Air Force member or any crime committed against the Air Force itself on an Air Force installation. In cases where Air Force people are victims or involved in crimes off base, we must deal with issues of jurisdiction. We share jurisdiction with a variety of State and Local law enforcement agencies who have law enforcement responsibility in the civilian communities surrounding our bases. In most cases our professional relationships with local law enforcement agencies are outstanding and allow us to work cooperatively on investigations in their jurisdictions where we have interest. In many cases, primary jurisdiction for such investigations rests with the civilian law enforcement agency, not OSI. However, OSI does have an investigative responsibility in such cases. Jurisdictional issues are facts of life we live with, and we make every effort to work closely and cooperatively with these agencies. We encourage close liaison and offer complete support, but in the final analysis what we are able to accomplish is often tempered by factors outside of our control. OSI investigations fall into three broad disciplines: Counterintelligence, Fraud, and General Crimes. Our investigations are conducted to support criminal prosecution, to protect the integrity and safety of Air Force people and resources, and, most importantly, to provide Air Force commanders with the information they need to develop policies and procedures essential for maintaining national security and force readiness. TRAINING Training for new agents at the United States Air Force Special Investigations Academy (USAFSIA) consists of an 11 week course designed to provide the new agents with the tools needed to conduct investigations. The Academy is an accredited academic institution. Instruction is provided by full time instructors on the USAFSIA staff, part-time instructors from our headquarters, and guest lecturers from other Government and civilian agencies. Full time instructors are graduates of the Air Force's Academic Instructor School or the Basic Instructor Course taught at Technical Training Bases. They have broad investigative experience and most have advanced degrees in relevant fields. Approximately four basic Special Investigators Courses, each averaging 35 students, are conducted each year. Upon successful completion of course requirements, the student is credentialed as a Special Agent. Air Force personnel attending the course are normally in the junior officer grades of O-1 through 0-3, mid-level enlisted grades of E-5 through E-6, and civilians are usually in the grade of GS-7. Upon completion of the basic course, agents enter an 18 month probationary period where they obtain hands-on experience under the tutelage of an experienced agent. Each unit maintains a training folder on the probationary agent, and as the probationary agent completes key tasks, the Probationary Agent Log is annotated. Probationary agents are also required to complete the Special Agent Career Development Course (CDC). The CDC is an Air Force certified training program designed to give Air Force members additional training and competency in their particular career field. In addition to the Basic Course, the USAFSIA offers a wide variety of advanced courses that provide further training in the areas of general crimes, fraud investigations, and counterintelligence matters. These courses are designed to enhance the investigative skills of our agents. DEATH INVESTIGATIONS Death investigations are one of the most significant categories of criminal investigation we conduct. The overarching rationale for these investigations is to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of the individual. These facts and circumstances assist competent authority in their determination of the manner of death (e.g. natural, accidental, homicide, or suicide). OSI generally does not investigate attended deaths that result from natural causes or accidents. However, if a death is unattended or appears to be the product of a criminal act, we will conduct an investigation. The fact is that, although the manner of death is more apparent in some cases than it is in others, we feel that it is only through careful and systematic investigation that the truth can be reliably established. I therefore insist that our death investigations be open-minded and thorough. SUICIDES Suicide is not a crime in any jurisdiction, including Federal or military. It is, however, an unnecessary and tragic loss of life that demands a thorough investigation into the facts and circumstances. In the military, suicides detract from mission read |