Emerging Concepts of Mortuary Affairs Doctrine for the 21st Century War Fighter

Abstract

This is a review of the Department of Defense's (DoD) Mortuary Affairs program. In the following pages it is my intent to determine if existing doctrine and planning is sufficient in the event the United States (US) is required to execute a wartime mortuary operation. For years Mortuary Affairs has corporately wrestled with the notion that friendly troops could be killed by, or contaminated by, weapons of mass effect (WME), presenting the logistical challenge of what to do next with human remains. Military doctrine is written and Service specific instructions and policy letters are in the field, but they have not kept pace with the times. Hopefully this study will highlight the inconsistencies and dangerously outdated guidance that field mortuary affairs personnel are charged to follow.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 27, 2003
Accession Number
ADA424796

Entities

People

  • Frederic C. Ryder

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Warfare
  • Biological Weapons
  • Cemeteries
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Civil War
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Health Services
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • United States
  • United States Transportation Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Naval Engineering and Maritime Security
  • Strategic Security Studies