November 1996

Testimony of Dodge Thompson

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I would like to thank the committee for this opportunity to place my testimony into the record for your consideration.

Second, I would like to express my confidence that this committee will get to the truth and make the changes necessary for the greater good of us all.

First, I will speak of the way we were treated at the meeting place (room 216 of the Hart Bldg.).   We were told to wait in the outer hallway for 45 minutes without any place to sit and no explanation, while we observed that the members of the IG's office and the representatives of the military who were to testify before the committee were immediately ushered in and given seats while the door was shut in our face.

The reason I speak of this is to say that it only set the tenor for the meeting that followed.  We have grown accustomed to being treated like second class citizens and this day was to be no different.

We listened to much talk about "suicide" in the testimony that was presented by the IG and the representatives of the Military Services, who seemed to have forgotten the reason that we were in conference:  to review the department of defense polices and procedures for death investigations.

Smoke screens are old news to us.  We are aware of these tactics and they just won't work.
We believe those responsible for these investigations find it in their best interest to point the focus to "suicide" because that is the only posture they can take without admitting they have made mistakes.

Is it credible that none of these investigating agency's would speculate about the possibility that even one of these contested "suicides" might have been something else?

We are given to conclude that the over 4,000 deaths that have occurred in the past decade were investigated with perfection and anyone that questions these conclusions must be a grieving relative that just can't accept the death of their loved one.   Who else is going to ask questions?

We listened to the testimony of the Inspector General and a reasonable conclusion would be that his office is not qualified to conduct these investigations.  By their own admission they are so overwhelmed with other business that it seems incredible that they would even attempt to solve this dilemma.

Is it the nature of the Inspector General to say they can do a job when they don't know if they can or not?

We believe that it is honorable to admit to this situation and to create an independent investigator and move on.

The following contains my suggestions which I offer to this committee to remedy the deficiencies in the investigations conducted by the DOD, IG, and Other Military agencies:

1. We believe It makes sense to have an unbiased independent civilian agency conducting these investigations, with liaison to the families.  We have heard that the NCIC is composed of civilian investigators, but make no mistake about it, they are requested by the Navy and controlled by the Navy. It is also apparent that the other agencies are under the direct control of the DOD or the IG'S office.

2. When a member of the Military dies, the investigation must be conducted as a homicide, and let the facts determine other causes of death.  Many of these discretionary calls of "suicide" or "self-inflicted" have caused important evidence to be trampled under foot and otherwise not gathered.
Later, when questions arise there is no hope of determining what happened.  When families come forth with evidence that has been gathered from other sources these investigators are very reluctant to follow-up.

3.When a family inquires about the circumstances of these deaths, there must be a mechanism in place to get this information to them.  In our particular situation it has taken years and hundreds of calls, letters, callbacks, FOIA requests etc., etc.  The agencies that I have dealt with seem to work extra hard making things tough.  We have been told that the information we were seeking was in a fire; in a flood; lost; that they were over worked; and way behind.  One lady even told me that the records I requested were on a truck that broke down and I'm certain that is the truth.

4. Jurisdiction issues....
We have heard that there must be consideration given when jurisdiction is an issue in the cases that take place in civilian locales. This has been presented in such a manner as to make one believe that jurisdiction is cast in stone.  This is not the way it is.  We have never heard of a single case of a local police department that wasn't willing to let the military stand in with the investigations and extend every consideration to them. We are also certain that if the military were to ask for certain test such as (finger prints, gunshot residue tests, autopsy, etc.,,,) the local police would probably honor such a request.  I would like to see even one instance where such a request was made and jurisdiction became an issue.

For jurisdiction issues to come into consideration requires that two parties be present to began with. Therein lies the bottom line here.  We have observed that when a military investigative agency hasn't been on the scene of a military death in a prompt manner, we are sure to hear about jurisdiction. This problem however doesn't prevent them from writing extensive reports as though they were the only one that knew what was going on.  Perhaps jurisdiction should apply to those who don't know as opposed to those who do.

5. Manner of death...
There are to many death certificates that say "suicide" without proof, just look at the number of reinvestigations that are taking place.

They must be changed to "undetermined" since that it what the facts are.  You must understand that this determination of death is the last report on the life of someone and it must be without fault.
There is much more that could be said concerning this matter, but if just a small part of what I and the other family members have said is taken under advisement it will suffice.  Thank you.