DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND 

9301 NW 33rd Street 

MIAMI, FL 33172-1217 

SC-COS 27 July 2022

MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION 

SUBJECT: Policy Memorandum 04-22, Service Component Reporting of Potentially Concussive 

Events (PCE).

1. References: See Appendix A

2. Purpose: This message provides guidance for reporting Potentially Concussive Events (PCE) in 

the deployed setting within the USSOUTHCOM AOR. It supplements DoDI 6490.11, DoD Policy 

Guidance for Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion in the Deployed Setting for 

military and civilian personnel mobilized and/or deployed across the range of military operations. 

3. Applicability: This guidance applies to military personnel and DoD civilians traveling or deploying 

to the USSOUTHCOM AOR. Shipboard operations that are not anticipated to involve operations 

ashore are exempt from the requirements of this instruction except for recording individual daily 

deployment locations or when potential health threats indicate actions necessary beyond the scope 

of shipboard occupational health programs or per the decision of the commander exercising 

operational control.

4. Policy: The Command Surgeon is the senior medical advisor to the USSOUTHCOM Commander, 

as well as the command's senior staff for all health service support policy, plans, engagements, and 

exercises. The Office of the Command Surgeon oversees U.S. military medical operations across 

the USSOUTHCOM AOR. It is USSOUTHCOM policy that:

 a. The Command shall identify, track, and ensure the appropriate evaluation and treatment of 

Service members exposed to potentially concussive events, to include blast events. 

 b. Service members exposed to a potentially concussive event shall be medically assessed as 

close to the time of injury as possible. 

c. Medically documented mTBI/concussion in Service members shall be clinically evaluated, 

treated, and managed according to the most current DoD clinical practice guidance for the deployed 

environment found in the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBI CoE) guidance, “Provider 

Resources”. 

 d. Recurrent concussion shall be managed according to the most current DoD clinical practice 

guidance for the deployed setting. 

e. Potentially concussive events, results of concussion screening, and diagnosed concussions 

shall be appropriately documented, to the maximum extent possible in the Service member’s 

electronic health record. 

 f. All individually identifiable information will be protected in accordance with DoD Instruction 

5400.11, DoD 5400.11-R, and DoD Manual 6025.18 

SUBJECT: Policy Memorandum 04-22, Service Component Reporting of Potentially 

Concussive Events (PCE).

APPENDIX A

REFERENCES

(a) DoD Directive 5124.02, “Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)),” 

June 23, 2008 

(b) Directive Type Memorandum 09-033, “Policy Guidance for Management of Concussion/ Mild 

Traumatic Brain Injury in the Deployed Setting,” June 21, 2010 (hereby cancelled) 

(c) Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, “Provider Resources”

(d) DoD Instruction 5400.11, “DoD Privacy and Civil Liberties Program,” January 29, 2019, as 

amended 

(e) DoD 5400.11-R “Department of Defense Privacy Program,” May 14, 2007 

(f) DoD Manual 6025.18, “Implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 

(HIPAA) Privacy Rule in DOD Health Care Programs,” March 13, 2019 

(g) Directive-type Memorandum 17-004, “Department of Defense Expeditionary Civilian Workforce,” 

January 25, 2017, as amended 

(h) DoD Manual 8910.01, Volume 1, “DoD Information Collections Manual: Procedures for DoD 

Internal Information Collections,” June 30, 2014, as amended 

(i) DoD Instruction 6200.05, “Force Health Protection Quality Assurance (FHPQA) Program,” June 

16, 2016, as amended 

(j) DoD Directive 6025.21E, “Medical Research for Prevention, Mitigation, and Treatment of Blast 

Injuries,” July 5, 2006, as amended 

(k) DoD Manual 6025.13, “Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) and Clinical Quality Management in 

the Military Health System (MHS),” October 29, 2013, as amended

(l) DoD Instruction 6490.11, “DoD Policy Guidance for Management of Mild Traumatic Brain 

Injury/Concussion in the Deployed Setting,” September 18, 2012, Incorporating Change 3, Effective 

October 1, 2021

(m) Defense Health Agency Memorandum “Guidance for Evaluation of Anomalous Health 

Incidents”, August 11, 2021
SUBJECT: Policy Memorandum 04-22, Service Component Reporting of Potentially 

Concussive Events (PCE).

APPENDIX B

USSOUTHCOM PCE Reporting Tool

SC_PCE_Reporting_

tool_YYYYMMDD - Ed