I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 945
To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish procedures for determin-
ing the status of missing members of the Armed Forces and certain
missing civilians, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 15, 1995
Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Ms. MOLINARI, Mrs. THURMAN, and Mr. HAMIL-
TON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on National Security
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to establish proce-
dures for determining the status of missing members
of the Armed Forces and certain missing civilians, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Missing Service Per-
sonnel Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to ensure that any member
of the Armed Forces, and any civilian employee of the
Federal Government or contractor of the Federal Govern-
ment who serves with or accompanies an Armed Force in
the field under orders, is fully accounted for by the Fed-
eral Government and, as a general rule, is not declared
dead solely because of the passage of time.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF WHEREABOUTS AND STATUS
OF CERTAIN MISSING PERSONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 10, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end of the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘§ 1060b. Missing persons: members and certain civil-
ian employees; determinations of status
‘‘(a) INFORMAL INVESTIGATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After receiving factual in-
formation that the whereabouts or status of a person
described in paragraph (2) is uncertain or that the
absence of such a person may be involuntary, the
military commander of the unit, facility, or area to
or in which the person is assigned shall conduct an
investigation into the whereabouts and status of the
person.
‘‘(2) COVERED PERSONS.—Paragraph (1) ap-
plies to the following individuals:
‘‘(A) Any member of the armed forces who
disappears during a time of war or national
emergency, or during a period of such other
hostilities as the Secretary of Defense may pre-
scribe.
‘‘(B) Any civilian employee of the Federal
Government (including an employee of a con-
tractor of the Federal Government) who—
‘‘(i) serves with or accompanies an
armed force in the field during such a time
or period; and
‘‘(ii) disappears during such service or
accompaniment.
‘‘(3) FURTHER ACTIVITIES.—As a result of an
investigation into the whereabouts and status of a
person under paragraph (1), a commander shall—
‘‘(A) if the whereabouts and status of the
person remain uncertain, place the person in a
missing status;
‘‘(B) submit a notice that the person has
been placed in a missing status to—
‘‘(i) in the case of a person who is a
member of the armed forces, the officer
having general court-martial authority over
the person;
‘‘(ii) in the case of a person who is a
civilian employee of the Federal Govern-
ment or an employee of a contractor of the
Federal Government, the Secretary con-
cerned;
‘‘(C) retain and safeguard for official use
any information, documents, records, state-
ments, or other evidence relating to the where-
abouts or status of the person that result from
the investigation or from actions taken to locate
the person; and
‘‘(D) submit to the officer having general
court-martial authority over the person, in the
case of a member of the armed forces, or to the
Secretary concerned, in the case of a civilian
employee of the Federal Government or of a
contractor of the Federal Government, as the
case may be—
‘‘(i) not later than 48 hours after the
date on which the absence of the person is
officially noted, a report that—
‘‘(I) contains information on the
absence or disappearance of the per-
son;
‘‘(II) describes the actions taken
to locate the person; and
‘‘(III) sets forth any information
relating to the whereabouts or status
of the person not contained in any
previous report;
‘‘(ii) not later than 7 days after such
date, a report that—
‘‘(I) 
summarizes 
the 
actions
taken to locate the person; and
‘‘(II) sets forth any information
relating to the whereabouts or status
of the person not contained in any
previous report;
‘‘(iii) not later than 30 days after
such date, a report that—
‘‘(I) summarizes the continuing
actions to locate the person; and
‘‘(II) sets forth any information
on the whereabouts or status of the
person that has resulted from such
actions; and
‘‘(iv) at any other time, a report that
sets forth any other information that may
be relevant to the whereabouts or status of
the person.
‘‘(b) INITIAL INQUIRY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days after
receiving notification under subsection (a)(3)(B)
that a person has been placed in missing status, the
officer having general court-martial authority over
the person, in the case of a person who is a member
of the armed forces, or the Secretary concerned, in
the case of a person who is a civilian employee of
the Federal Government or of a contractor of the
Federal Government, shall appoint a board to con-
duct an inquiry into the whereabouts and status of
the person.
‘‘(2) COMBINED INQUIRIES.—If it appears to
the official who appoints a board under this sub-
section that the absence or missing status of two or
more persons is factually related, the official may
appoint one board under this subsection to conduct
the inquiry into the whereabouts or status of the
persons.
‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A board appointed
under this subsection shall consist of at least
one individual described in subparagraph (B)
who has experience with and an understanding
of military operations or activities similar to the
operation or activity in which the person or per-
sons subject to the inquiry disappeared.
‘‘(B) REQUIRED MEMBER.—An individual
referred to in subparagraph (A) is the follow-
ing:
‘‘(i) A military officer, in the case of
an inquiry with respect to a member of the
armed forces.
‘‘(ii) A civilian, in the case of an in-
quiry with respect to a civilian employee of
the Federal Government or of a contractor
of the Federal Government.
‘‘(C) ACCESS
TO
CLASSIFIED
INFORMA-
TION.—Each member of a board appointed for
an inquiry under this subsection shall have a
security clearance that affords the member ac-
cess to all information relating to the where-
abouts and status of the person or persons cov-
ered by the inquiry.
‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—A board appointed to con-
duct an inquiry into the whereabouts or status of a
person or persons under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) collect, develop, and investigate all
facts and evidence relating to the disappear-
ance, whereabouts, and status of the person or
persons;
‘‘(B) collect appropriate documentation of
the facts and evidence covered by the investiga-
tion;
‘‘(C) analyze the facts and evidence, make
findings based on the analysis, and draw con-
clusions as to the current whereabouts and sta-
tus of the person or persons; and
‘‘(D) recommend to the officer having gen-
eral court-martial authority over the person, in
the case of a person who is a member of the
armed forces, or to the Secretary concerned, in
the case of a person who is a civilian employee
of the Federal Government or of a contractor of
the Federal Government, that the person or
persons—
‘‘(i) continue to have a missing status;
or
‘‘(ii) be declared (I) to have deserted,
(II) to be absent without leave, or (III) to
be dead.
‘‘(5) PROCEEDINGS.—A board conducting an
inquiry under this subsection shall—
‘‘(i) meet the qualifications set forth
in section 827(b) of this title (article 27(b)
of the Uniform Code of Military Justice);
and
‘‘(ii) have a security clearance that af-
fords the individual access to all informa-
tion relating to the whereabouts or status
of the person or persons covered by the in-
quiry.
‘‘(C) RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES.—An
individual appointed as counsel under this para-
graph—
‘‘(i) shall have access to all facts and
evidence considered by the board during
the proceedings of the inquiry for which
the counsel is appointed;
‘‘(ii) shall observe all official activities
of the board during such proceedings;
‘‘(iii) may question witnesses before
the board;
‘‘(iv) shall monitor the deliberations of
the board;
‘‘(v) shall review the report of the
board under paragraph (9); and