SECTION III
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
TOPIC: WIA, KIA and MIA Media Announcements.
DISCUSSION: The primary next-of-kin and secondary next-of-kin (PNOK and SNOK) notification system used during Operation DESERT STORM was too centralized, and often ineffective.
One
problem we experienced...[an injured soldier] was sent to the hospital ship
Mercy, where CNN comes by and films him. His wife, walking through a mall in
Temple, Texas, passes a TV store, which has what on? CNN. On a bank of 15-20
televisions, she sees her husband on the hospital ship Mercy, and she hasn't
been notified! Now, that caused a stink.
Corps
PAO
The
biggest problem we had with the casualty reporting system was the fact that
we had AT& phones within one kilometer of our base camp. Any servicemember
could go down to the phone and call back to a spouse and say, "Hey, Johnny
So-and-So has had a heart attack." Despite our every effort to make sure that
the commanders told their soldiers not to do that, it did happen.
Company
Commander
Casualty
notification was a major problem. This is an actual case: Sergeant J calls
his wife and says, "Sergeant S got hurt today. He's out on the hospital ship,
and it looks like they are going to evacuate him back to Walter Reed." Sergeant
J's wife calls Sergeant S's wife and says, "Have you heard? Your husband's
been hurt, and he'll probably be at Walter Reed tomorrow." Sergeant S's wife
flies to Washington, goes to Walter Reed and starts looking for her husband.
He's not there. This actually happened.
Division
Rear Detachment PAO
LESSON(S): There should be a direct link between local casualty affairs and public affairs to ensure records are kept up to date on PNOK/SNOK home-of-record locations to facilitate timely media releases upon notification. This direct link with unit, casualty affairs, and public affairs will speed up the process, and foster increased credibility between media and local PAOs. It will also help prevent premature media disclosure.
TOPIC: 1-800 General Information Number to provide Status of Soldiers and verify Next-of-Kin Status.
DISCUSSION: The Army's 1-800 number received tens of thousands of calls asking for updated information on soldier location, injuries, redeployment and next-of-kin notification status. The centralized handling of calls limited the amount of information releasable to callers. Casualty information was not provided to the 1-800 number operation until PNOK notification was completed, and soldier deployment status was difficult to verify. Soldier, commander and "buddy" calls to family members regarding injuries not covered by the official notification system or before the system could be activated compounded family member anxiety. Family members calling the 1-800 number to verify or change primary or secondary NOK notification information on a soldier's DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data) were thwarted because the information was maintained at installation level and was protected by the Privacy Act. Compounding this were the number of family members anticipating a long deployment and relocating to live with relatives. At least one unit maintained its own 1-800 system with great success.
Family
members were uninformed of where and how to go to change primary and secondary
NOK addresses. Many spouses moved in with their families or their in-laws,
but were unable to change their address with the Army because only the soldier
could change his DD 93. Family members were frantic about not being notified
if something happened.
Pentagon
1-800 Staffer
The
single most important thing we did was to establish 1-800 phone lines for family
members to call about loved ones. We had very strict procedures, because of
the Privacy Act questions. We announced ahead of time to people: "When you
call, we're going to ask you to provide [the soldier's] social security number."
We were very sensitive to media disclosures and the like.
Division
G-1 Officer
At
Fort Lewis, a toll-free telephone line was dedicated to providing information
on returning units, including flight arrival times as soon as they were releaseable.
The number was disseminated to the media, who helped get the information to
the widely dispersed families.
U.S.
Army Reserve PA Adviser
LESSON(S): Commanders must stress to soldiers the importance of keeping their DD Form 93 (Record of Emergency Data) current and keeping family members as informed as possible. During preparation for overseas movement (POM), soldiers should update their DD Form 93 with the address of where the spouse will be. If necessary, soldiers should grant family members power of attorney to change DD Form 93 information. CI channels can be used to inform soldiers and family members of the procedures. Soldiers must be advised that the good intentions of unofficial notification carry risks and are certain to increase anxiety among family members. The internal audience should be informed of the NOK notification system and the circumstances under which it exists.
Table
of Contents
Section
II, Part 3
Section
IV - Doctrine
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