JP 4-06, Mortuary Affairs - Federation of American Scientists

194 Pages·2011·3.01 MB·English

Joint Publication 4-06
Mortuary Affairs
12 October 2011
Intentionally Blank
PREFACE
1. Scope
This publication provides joint doctrine for mortuary affairs support in joint operations.
It outlines procedures for the search, recovery, evacuation (to include tracking of human
remains), tentative identification, processing, and/or temporary interment of remains. This
publication addresses both the Department of Defense’s mortuary affairs responsibilities in
regards to civil support duties under United States Northern Command and to the other
geographic combatant commanders. It further addresses decontamination procedures for
handling contaminated human remains and provides for the handling of personal effects of
deceased and missing personnel.
2. Purpose
This publication has been prepared under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. It sets forth joint doctrine to govern the activities and performance of the
Armed Forces of the United States in joint operations and provides the doctrinal basis for
interagency coordination and for US military involvement in multinational operations. It
provides military guidance for the exercise of authority by combatant commanders and other
joint force commanders (JFCs) and prescribes joint doctrine for operations, education, and
training. It provides military guidance for use by the Armed Forces in preparing their
appropriate plans. It is not the intent of this publication to restrict the authority of the JFC
from organizing the force and executing the mission in a manner the JFC deems most
appropriate to ensure unity of effort in the accomplishment of the overall objective.
3. Application
a. Joint doctrine established in this publication applies to the Joint Staff, commanders of
combatant commands, subunified commands, joint task forces, subordinate components of
these commands, and the Services.
b. The guidance in this publication is authoritative; as such, this doctrine will be
followed except when, in the judgment of the commander, exceptional circumstances dictate
otherwise. If conflicts arise between the contents of this publication and the contents of
Service publications, this publication will take precedence unless the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, normally in coordination with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
has provided more current and specific guidance. Commanders of forces operating as part of
a multinational (alliance or coalition) military command should follow multinational doctrine
and procedures ratified by the United States. For doctrine and procedures not ratified by the

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Preface
United States, commanders should evaluate and follow the multinational command’s
doctrine and procedures, where applicable and consistent with US law, regulations, and
doctrine.
For the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

WILLIAM E. GORTNEY
VADM, USN
Director, Joint Staff

ii JP 4-06
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
REVISION OF JOINT PUBLICATION 4-06
DATED 05 JUNE 2006
• Changes the publication title from Mortuary Affairs in Joint Operations to
Mortuary Affairs.
• Expands on the role of mortuary affairs support for homeland defense and civil
support operations and changes the chapter title from Mortuary Affairs Support
in the United States to Homeland Defense and Defense Support of Civil
Authorities.
• Removes the tactics, techniques, and procedures for decontamination of human
remains and personal effects.
• Adds a chapter on Mortuary Operations.
• Removes chapter on Procedures for the Search and Recovery of Human
Remains and placed the information in appropriate chapter locations.
• Removes chapter on Evacuation and Tentative Identification of Human
Remains and placed the information in appropriate chapter locations.
• Adds a chapter on Mortuary Affairs Battlefield Operations.
• Replaces the term decontamination with contamination mitigation.
• Changes the name of the mortuary affairs decontamination collection point to
mortuary affairs contaminated remains mitigation site.
• Removes appendix on International Agreements and Memorandums of
Understanding.
• Removes appendix on Common Forms Used in Mortuary Affairs and placed the
forms in the appropriate chapter locations.
• Adds appendix on Transportation of Contaminated Remains.
• Adds appendix on Mortuary Affairs Assets and Capabilities.
• Adds appendix on Foreign Humanitarian Assistance.
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Summary of Changes
• Provides additional guidance on the recovery, handling, processing, and
evacuation of portions to reflect current Armed Forces Medical Examiner
guidance and Department of Defense (DOD) policy.
• Provides additional guidance on the recovery, handling, processing, and
evacuation of US contractor remains to reflect current DOD policy.
• Provides updated guidance on the joint personal effects depot and its
procedures and operations.
• Provides guidance on inventory officer responsibilities for the collection,
inventory, and shipment of personal effects.

iv JP 4-06
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER I
MORTUARY AFFAIRS PROGRAM
 Introduction ................................................................................................................ I-1
 Mortuary Affairs Policy ............................................................................................. I-2
 Joint Mortuary Affairs Program ................................................................................ I-3
 Military Mortuary Affairs Support ............................................................................ I-4
 Roles and Responsibilities ......................................................................................... I-5
CHAPTER II
MORTUARY AFFAIRS SUPPORT IN A THEATER OF OPERATIONS
 Joint Mortuary Affairs Office ...................................................................................II-1
 Operational Mortuary Affairs Support .....................................................................II-3
 Command and Control of Army Mortuary Affairs Assets .......................................II-4
 Temporary Storage, Interment, and Disinterment Operations ..................................II-5
 Mortuary Affairs Support to Non-United States Personnel ......................................II-8
 Strategic Implications of Mortuary Affairs Interaction with the
Death of Non-United States Civilians and Noncombatants .....................................II-9
 Mass Casualty/Fatality Incident Considerations ......................................................II-9
 Legal Considerations ..............................................................................................II-10
 Special Considerations ............................................................................................II-11
CHAPTER III
MORTUARY AFFAIRS PLANNING
 Introduction ............................................................................................................. III-1
 Planning Guidance .................................................................................................. III-1
 Planning Considerations ......................................................................................... III-2
 Religious Considerations ........................................................................................ III-6
 Mortuary Affairs Facilities ..................................................................................... III-6
 Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health Considerations .......................... III-6
 Communications and Interoperability .................................................................... III-8
 Public Affairs .......................................................................................................... III-9
 Training ................................................................................................................... III-9
CHAPTER IV
MORTUARY AFFAIRS BATTLEFIELD OPERATIONS
 Unit-Level Operations ............................................................................................ IV-1
 Search and Recovery of Human Remains .............................................................. IV-1
 
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Table of Contents
 Mortuary Affairs Collection Point Operations ..................................................... IV-18
 Theater Mortuary Evacuation Point Operations ................................................... IV-37
CHAPTER V
PERSONAL EFFECTS
 Introduction .............................................................................................................. V-1
 General Guidance .................................................................................................... V-1
 Roles and Responsibilities ....................................................................................... V-1
 Unit Tasks ................................................................................................................ V-3
 Personal Effects in a Theater of Operations ............................................................ V-4
 Theater Personal Effects Depot Operations ............................................................. V-5
 Joint Personal Effects Depot Operations in the Continental United States ........... V-11
CHAPTER VI
MORTUARY OPERATIONS
 Overview ................................................................................................................. VI-1
 Port Mortuary .......................................................................................................... VI-1
 Department of Defense Regional Mortuaries ......................................................... VI-2
 Installation Mortuary Support ................................................................................. VI-2
CHAPTER VII
HOMELAND DEFENSE AND DEFENSE SUPPORT OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES
 Introduction ............................................................................................................ VII-1
 Roles and Responsibilities ..................................................................................... VII-1
 National Response Framework .............................................................................. VII-3
 Defense Support to Civil Authorities .................................................................... VII-5
 National Mass-Fatality Management Framework ................................................. VII-6
 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Consequence Management ..... VII-9
 Homeland Defense ................................................................................................. VII-9
CHAPTER VIII
CONTAMINATED HUMAN REMAINS AND PERSONAL EFFECTS
 Introduction .......................................................................................................... VIII-1
 Overview of Department of Defense Operations in a
Contaminated Environment ................................................................................. VIII-1
 Mortuary Affairs Operations in a Contaminated Environment ........................... VIII-1
 Mortuary Affairs Contaminated Human Remains Mitigation Site ...................... VIII-3
 Temporary Storage of Contaminated Human Remains ....................................... VIII-9
 Temporary Interment of Contaminated Human Remains ................................. VIII-10
 Theater Mortuary Evacuation Point Operations ................................................ VIII-10
 Port Mortuary ..................................................................................................... VIII-11
 Final Disposition ................................................................................................ VIII-11
 Mortuary Affairs Contaminated Remains Mitigation Site Records .................. VIII-11
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Table of Contents
APPENDIX
A Sample Format for Mortuary Affairs Appendix to an Operation Plan ..... A-1
B Mass Interment ...........................................................................................B-1
C Foreign Humanitarian Assistance ..............................................................C-1
D Transportation of Contaminated Human Remains .................................... D-1
E Religious Support to Mortuary Affairs ...................................................... E-1
F Mortuary Affairs Assets and Capabilities .................................................. F-1
G Key Points of Contact ............................................................................... G-1
H References ................................................................................................. H-1
J Administrative Instructions ......................................................................... J-1
GLOSSARY
Part I Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................. GL-1
Part II Terms and Definitions ............................................................................. GL-5
FIGURE
IV-1 Example of a Straight-Line Box Search ................................................... IV-2
IV-2 DD Form 567, Record of Search and Recovery ....................................... IV-5
IV-3 DD Form 565, Statement of Recognition of Deceased ............................ IV-7
IV-4 DD Form 1074, Questionnaire of Local Inhabitants ................................ IV-8
IV-5 Search and Recovery Tag for Human Remains,
Ground/Non-Vehicular ............................................................................. IV-9
IV-6 Search and Recovery Tag for Human Remains, Aircraft ....................... IV-10
IV-7 Search and Recovery Tag for Portion .................................................... IV-11
IV-8 Search and Recovery Tag for Disassociated Personal Effects ............... IV-12
IV-9 Sample Recovery Site Map .................................................................... IV-17
IV-10 Mortuary Affairs Collection Plan (Temporary)–Site Plan ..................... IV-20
IV-11 Sample Layout of a Collection Point ..................................................... IV-21
IV-12 DD Form 1077, Collection Point Register of Deceased Personnel ........ IV-22
IV-13 Evacuation Tag for Human Remains ..................................................... IV-24
IV-14 Evacuation Tag for Portions ................................................................... IV-25
IV-15 Evacuation Tag for Individual Portions (for Inclusion Inside a
Human Remains Pouch Several Portions) ............................................. IV-26
IV-16 Sample 3 × 5 Alpha Index Card ............................................................. IV-27
IV-17 DD Form 1075, Convoy List of Remains of Deceased Personnel ......... IV-28
IV-18 DD Form 1380, US Field Medical Card ................................................ IV-29
IV-19 DD Form 2064, United States Department of Defense
Certificate of Death ................................................................................ IV-30
IV-20 DD Form 890, Record of Identification Processing
(Effects and Physical Data) .................................................................... IV-32
IV-21 DD Form 1076, Record of Personal Property/Personal Effects ............. IV-33
IV-22 DD Form 1076C, Record of Personal Property/Personal Effects
(Continuation Sheet) .............................................................................. IV-34
IV-23 Evacuation Tag for Disassociated Effects .............................................. IV-35
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Table of Contents
IV-24 Evacuation Channels for Human Remains ............................................. IV-36
IV-25 Suggested Layout for Theater Mortuary Evacuation Point .................... IV-40
IV-26 Suggested Format for Theater Mortuary Evacuation Logbook.............. IV-42
IV-27 DD Form 1384, Transportation Control and Movement Document ...... IV-44
IV-28 DD Form 1387, Military Shipment Label .............................................. IV-45
IV-29 DD Form 1387-2, Special Handling Data/Certification ......................... IV-45
IV-30 Recommended Placement of Human Remains, Ice, and
Case File in a Transfer Case ................................................................... IV-47
V-1 Suggested Layout for a Personal Effects Depot ........................................ V-7
V-2 Suggested Format for Personal Effects Depot Logbook ........................... V-8
V-3 Suggested Format for Certificate of Destruction .................................... V-13
VII-1 Typical Mortuary Affairs Assets ............................................................. VII-4
VII-2 Typical Incident Command System Structure ........................................ VII-7
VIII-1 Suggested Mortuary Affairs Contaminated Remains
Mitigation Site Layout (Chemical) ....................................................... VIII-5
B-1 Diagram of Interment Site ..........................................................................B-5
B-2 DD Form 1079, Interment/Disinterment Register ......................................B-6
B-3 Interment Processing Tag ...........................................................................B-8
C-1 Recommended Equipment/Supply Package for
Humanitarian Assistance Operations .........................................................C-6

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