David B. Roath
Logistical planners use a detailed logistics estimate: a logical and systematic process to analyze the influence of combat service support factors on a proposed course of action. Often in this process, staff officers overlook mortuary affairs planning or the planners assume that no deaths will occur. When logistics staff officers coordinate with other staff officers, a comment heard far too often is "Why do I need a mortuary affairs plan?"
To ponder the serious implications of these comments, assume for a moment that you are the father or mother of a soldier on active duty. Assume your son or daughter is in a faraway location such as Somalia, Haiti or Kuwait. Assume the "worst" has happened. In this Information Age of real time-instant video, the Army can ill afford a poorly conceived mortuary affairs support plan. The implications of news footage of fallen U.S. soldiers on the battlefield or decomposing remains of soldiers or civilians strikes the most sensitive nerve in the American public's mind. In mortuary affairs, there are often no second chances. Delaying the processing and timely execution of well-designed mortuary affairs support plans could cause unnecessary grief and hardship for the next of kin. Mortuary affairs logistics estimates are an integral part of any commander's decision-making process. To help logistical planners with sound recommendations for a mortuary affairs support annex, the following guidance is provided.
Early in the planning stages, planners must develop a mortuary affairs logistics estimate to support contingency operations, mass disasters, and operations other than war (OOTW). The following are considerations for staff officers and geographical commanders:
Commanders are responsible for recovering individual members of their units and any remains found in their geographical area of responsibility. Units conducting recovery operations must take special precautions to preserve all items that might be used to establish tentative identification of the remains. The identification tags and identification card are considered government property to be left on the remains. Under no conditions will these items be removed by unit personnel. Only mortuary affairs specialists are authorized to remove these items.
Before recovering remains, unit personnel will make sure all unexploded ordnance and explosive devices have been removed from the remains. Coordination should be made with nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) or explosive ordnance disposal specialists for assistance when NBC agents or hazardous items are detected.
Once the remains are deemed safe to handle, soldiers proceed with the recovery. All personal effects found on the remains should be guarded against further damage. Also, soldiers must safeguard other identification found on the remains from destruction by body fluids, weather conditions and other environmental factors. Personnel secure these identifications items in a waterproof, sealed plastic bag, keeping all personal equipment found on the remains with the remains until inspection of these items for identification value. Soldiers must check the immediate area for unassociated personal effects and equipment and then evacuate these items to a mortuary facility. Soldiers should inventory unit equipment and return it to the unit supply section.
In situations when personnel find a remains missing major portions, the soldiers will attempt to thoroughly search the immediate area. When dealing with multiple remains that have severed portions in the same geographical area, soldiers must not attempt to associate any portions with a particular remains. Instead, soldiers must evacuate these portions separately. Finally, in cases of fragmented remains, soldiers must attempt to recover as much of the remains as possible. No portion is considered too small. Personnel must pay particularly close attention to locating hands, individual fingers, teeth and dental work for identification by fingerprint and dental chart comparison. In addition to traditional identification methods, deoxyribonucleic acid testing may make positive identification possible based on body tissue, blood samples and hair samples. Personnel performing the recovery should record the following information as part of their incident statement:
This recorded information should be protected from body fluids and evacuated with the remains. Upon completion of recovery operations, personnel who performed the recovery will coordinate for transportation to evacuate all remains, personal effects and equipment to a unit marshaling area or the nearest mortuary affairs collection point.
A mortuary support plan must include procedures for handling local nationals. Planners must not assume that the host government will have the capabilities to process their own. During OOTW or humanitarian assistance missions, the supported country may not have the infrastructure required to provide mortuary support to the local population. Staff planners must coordinate with the Staff Judge Advocate to clarify the legal implications of deceased local national personnel. A clear chain of custody from the time of processing to the return to local national control must be established and followed.
In general terms, the legal obligations depend on whether dealing with remains found in a U.S.-controlled area or with a death associated with a U.S. forces action. In either case, only trained mortuary affairs specialists should handle the deceased to avoid contamination from AIDS and other infectious diseases. Deaths of persons in U.S. care, such as displaced civilians seeking help at a site under U.S. control, create other obligations such as the medical certification and recording of deaths. When the host government has the capability, death records should be registered with the host government. If not, U.S. forces should maintain appropriate records for later transmittal to an appropriate governmental office.
The same rules apply to persons destroyed by U.S. forces. In these contexts, "identification" is a relative term. It is adequate to attempt to identify such persons through papers in their possession or by witnesses in the immediate area of their death. It is not necessary to canvas the community or conduct intensive medical examinations. If a next of kin comes forward to request custody of the remains, a mortuary affairs specialist will prepare documents to reflect a change in custody from U.S. control to local national control and have the next of kin sign a receipt for the remains.
In April 1994 the U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School at Fort Lee, VA, received approval of the Interim Operational Concept for Mortuary Affairs Support to the Theater. Currently, the U.S. combat forces in divisions, separate brigades, armored cavalry regiments, and Army Special Operations Forces receive mortuary affairs support in an area of operations through the use of augmentations. Most divisions do not have the full authorization of the mortuary affairs specialists and equipment necessary to support their mission. This creates a deficiency in handling remains and personal effects. The approved concept provides mortuary affairs support within the area of operations on an area support basis. Within the corps, all units will receive their support from the corps collection company.
Currently the only active duty mortuary affairs company is the 54th Quartermaster Company at Fort Lee, VA. This company, most likely, will become the corps collection company and will consist of five forward collection platoons, one main collection platoon, and one company headquarters platoon. Four forward collection platoons provide direct support to division or separate brigade-sized units. One forward collection platoon provides direct support/general support to the corps and its corps support groups (CSGs). Each forward collection platoon can operate four collection points within the corps, division and brigade area (20 collection points in all). The collection company may be assigned to the supply and service (S&S) battalion in the CSG (Rear). One forward collection point may be attached to the CSG (Forward).
The main collection platoon in the corps rear will receive remains and personal effects from the forward collection platoons. The main collection platoon will prepare and arrange for remains and personal effects to be further evacuated to the rear or to mortuaries in the continental U.S. (CONUS) or outside CONUS by air and/or surface transportation. All platoons will have the technical capability to conduct temporary interments when the tactical and logistical situations dictate such use.
Each forward collection platoon will be organized into four sections. Each section in the brigade support area (BSA) will contain seven soldiers with the military occupational specialty 92M (Mortuary Affairs Specialist). The 92Ms include one staff sergeant, one sergeant and five specialists. Each section in the division support area (DSA) will contain 10 soldiers, and the additional 3 include the platoon leader, platoon sergeant and mechanic. Each section will operate a collection point that can process about 20 remains per day. Forward collection platoons will normally be attached to the division support command of the supported division. Each mortuary affairs element supporting a CSG will normally be attached to a corps support battalion or an supply and service (S&S) battalion.
Forward collection platoons can receive remains and personal effects, screen for ordnance on the remains, and perform initial identification for approximately 400 remains per day. This is the combined total of the 20 collection points operating forward of the corps rear.
Forward collection points in the BSA and DSA will evacuate remains using the throughput concept to the farthest point in the rear. The main collection platoon can receive all remains and personal effects from the forward platoons and prepare and arrange for further evacuation to the echelons above corps (EAC) support command mortuary affairs company. The collection company will be allocated on the basis of one per corps. The company strength will be approximately 223.
Mortuary affairs support in the EAC support command area of operation will be provided by a mortuary affairs company. This company will have a collection platoon, a personal effects depot detachment and two evacuation platoons. The mortuary affairs company is normally assigned to the S&S battalion under an area support group.
All persons who expire in an area of operations will be treated with dignity and respect by U.S. forces. A sound and well-conceived mortuary support plan will ensure that the individuals needing service will receive the support in a professional and reverent manner by trained mortuary affairs officers and mortuary affairs specialists.
David B. Roath is a Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and has a bachelor of science degree in mortuary science. He is also a licensed funeral director and a graduate of the Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, Officer Basic Course, Airborne School, and Mortuary Affairs Officer Course. He has served as a Joint Theater Mortuary Officer J/4, Theater Mortuary Officer G/4 and the 54th Quartermaster Company Detachment Commander, and Chief of the Mortuary Affairs Center Training Branch. He is currently serving as the Chief of Joint Services Integration and the Acting Deputy Director of the Mortuary Affairs Center, U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School, Fort Lee, Virginia.