Mortuary Affairs: Presently combatting death in theater

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

05.28.2018

Story by Staff Sgt. Charlotte Reavis 

143d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – It is a sad reality that mortuary affairs is a critical element of theater operations. When U.S. personnel die while deployed, the soldiers of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command- OCP Mortuary Affairs units handle the remains with dignity and ensure they are prepared for their final journey home.
“No one wants to think they NEED mortuary affairs,” said 1st Theater Sustainment Command- OCP Mortuary Affairs NCO, Master Sgt. Catherine Adams. “Whether its combat related, some sort of freak accident, natural causes; death happens and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.”
Adams recalls her first deployment fifteen and a half years ago as a fresh out of AIT Private 1st Class and how scary the experience was as a mortuary affairs soldier. She stated that the processes of mortuary affairs have improved by leaps and bounds and the focus has shifted to preserving forensic evidence to assist in any investigation into the death of a Soldier.
“Policy and techniques have changed a lot since I have been in,” she said. “When I arrived in theater in 2003, we received the remains of a fallen soldier and would immediately start to clean the body and process it. Then the regulatory guidance changed and instead of cleaning the remains, we started treating every deceased as a crime scene and preserved the forensic evidence.”
This policy change has since allowed the Air Force Medical Examiners at Dover Air Force Base to review the bodies and determine the cause of fatality and assisted investigators with determining what the threats were to soldiers. Now, the mortuary personnel in theater inventory the personal effects, make a tentative identification and ensure all the administrative paperwork is in order.
“Any way that a person can die at home, that doesn’t go away just because you’re deployed,” Adams said. “Those things still happen and we are still responsible for getting them home to their families.”
Currently, Adams serves as the senior mortuary affairs advisor for the 1st TSC. It is part of her role to look at the overall operational plan, intelligence threat plans, and how many troops are deployed in the 1TSC’s area of operation so that she can calculate and assess the need for mortuary affairs in theater. It is also her responsibility to assist the ‘TMAO’ and the 1st TSC-OCP personnel by conducting site visits, checking on soldiers and seeing the actual facilities and capabilities mortuary affairs has across theater. She then takes those assessments and presents them to Maj. Gen. Flem B. “Donnie” Walker, the commanding general of the 1st TSC.
“Seeing sites first hand enables us to get a much better picture of the situation we are asking our soldiers to function in,” said Capt. Lisa Laughlin, a member of the 1st TSC-MCP. “The TMAO is located at Camp Arifjan but conducts mission analysis and planning for sites all over the area of responsibility.”
Laughlin stated that the 1st TSC has mortuary affairs teams, made up of all military branches, spread across ten countries and that some of the teams have as many as ten personnel, while others simply have a single liaison officer.
“As the Army is the executive agent for mortuary affairs, we are considered the subject matter expert for all branches,” she said.
“As a Department of Defense, (one of the things) we have been developing and trying to validate (is) the capability to process and repatriate contaminated remains,” Adams said about the site visits. “I wanted to ensure that the teams on ground and the TMAO knew the most up to date guidance that’s out there for the MACRMS (Mortuary Affairs Contaminated Remains Mitigation Site).”
Once they were able to visit several sites across the AOR, both soldiers stated that there was room for improvement when it came to the mortuary affairs mission in theater.
“We are constantly striving for improvement; whether in training or site set up,” said Laughlin. “We challenge the NCOs at the sites to set goals that will leave a legacy. Each site is unique and can always be modified to better fit an ever-changing environment.”
Adams stated that there are a few things that she hopes to see as the mortuary affairs mission progresses in theater. One thing she would like to see would be better, long standing structures made specifically for the mortuary affairs mission. There is already a Mortuary Affairs Collection Point designed by another soldier currently being used that Adams said would be a great starting point for future structures. Building better MA structures in theater would give the opportunity to hand something over to the host nation in the future.
“I think that would be a great way to build rapport and trust with our allies- show them that we care for our deceased this way, and then we want to leave this for you all to care for yours as well,” she said. “In my mind, there is no greater thing that you can do for someone.”
Laughlin, who is the Field Services Branch Chief for the 1st TSC-MCP, said that she has noticed that the mortuary affairs specialists in theater have proven that their dedication to training has helped make their missions seamless.
“Even deployed, they continue training and rehearsals,” she said. “During the execution phase of the mission, there is no time for questions and no room for error. The leaders and soldiers that conduct this mission take extreme pride in the attention to detail and ensuring they get things right for the families.”
Though the mission has changed several times since September 11, the overall goal for mortuary affairs has not. Follow the Soldier’s creed and their warrior ethos.
“That’s the essence of Mortuary Affairs, never leaving a fallen comrade, regardless of what or how they became deceased,” Adams said. “We are doing the last great service for our fallen comrade that you can do.”

• Date Taken: 05.28.2018
• Date Posted: 06.03.2018 08:01
• Story ID: 279368
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW