1.Investigations of suicides
committed by members of the Armed Forces
(a)
(1)Chapter 80 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
1567.Investigations
of suicides committed by members of the Armed Forces
(a)In the event of a suicide by a member of the Armed Forces
on active duty, the Secretary concerned shall provide for the conduct of an
investigation into the suicide in accordance with this section.
(b)Suicide
investigation board(1)Each investigation into
a suicide under this section shall be conducted by a board (to be known as a
suicide investigation board
) established by the Secretary
concerned for purposes of the investigation.
(2)The head of a suicide investigation
board under this subsection shall be a commissioned officer of the Armed Forces
concerned on active duty in the grade of brigadier general or higher, or rear
admiral (lower half) or higher in the case of the Navy, who is assigned for
that purpose by the Secretary concerned.
(3)Each suicide investigation board
under this subsection shall consist of four additional commissioned officers on
active duty, who are outside the chain of command of the member of the Armed
Forces who committed suicide, who are assigned for that purpose by the
Secretary concerned.
(c)(1)The suicide
investigation board established under subsection (b) shall conduct a thorough
investigation of the causes contributing to the suicide, including an
examination and assessment of actions that could have been taken to prevent the
suicide.
(2)(A)Each investigation
under this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with such procedures as
the Secretary concerned shall prescribe in regulations. The Secretary of
Defense shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that the procedures prescribed
for purposes of this paragraph are uniform across the military
departments.
(B)The procedures under subparagraph (A)
shall include mechanisms to preserve and protect the privacy and
confidentiality of individuals concerned with or participating in
investigations under this section, and shall be separate from any criminal
investigation.
(C)The Secretary concerned shall take
appropriate actions to ensure that members of the Armed Forces assigned to a
board under this section are proficient with the procedures applicable to the
board under this paragraph before their participation in a suicide
investigation board.
(3)(A)No person or authority
may censure, reprimand, or admonish a board conducting an investigation under
this section, or the head or any member of the board, with respect to the
actions of the board in conducting the investigation or with the findings or
recommendations of the board as a result of the investigation.
(B)No person or authority may attempt to
coerce, or by any unauthorized means, influence the action of a board
conducting an investigation under this section, or the head or any member of
the board, in reaching the findings or recommendations of the board as a result
of the investigation.
(4)A board's investigation of a suicide
under this section shall, to the extent practicable, be completed not later
than 30 days after the date of the suicide.
(d)Construction with other
investigationsThe
investigation of a suicide under this section is in addition to any other
investigation, including any investigation for criminal purposes, otherwise
authorized or required by law.
(e)Reports on
investigations(1)Each board conducting
an investigation under this section into the suicide of a member of the Armed
Forces shall submit to the Secretary concerned reports as follows:
(A)An interim report, not later than 30
days after the date of the suicide of the member, setting forth the preliminary
findings of the board as a result of the investigation as of the date of such
report.
(B)A final report, not later than 60 days
after the date of the suicide of the member, setting forth the final findings
and recommendations of the board as a result of the investigation.
(2)The recommendations of a board under
paragraph (1)(B) may include such recommendations as the board considers
appropriate for actions to be taken in order to reduce the incidence of suicide
in members of the Armed Forces.
(3)A board conducting an investigation
may at any time submit to the Secretary concerned such other findings or
recommendations as the board considers appropriate in order to reduce the
incidence of suicide in members of the Armed Forces.
(4)A report under this subsection may
not be treated as a public document and, except as provided in subsection (f),
may not be released to the public.
(f)Public
summaries of reports on investigations(1)Not later than 60 days
after the receipt of a final report of a board under subsection (e)(1)(B) on an
investigation under this section, the Secretary concerned shall make available
to the public a summary of the report, including the findings and
recommendation of the board as a result of the investigation. The summary
shall, upon the request of any individual concerned with or participating in
the investigation, redact any personal information of the individual, and shall
redact such other personal and other information as the Secretary concerned
considers appropriate to preserve the privacy, confidentiality, and integrity
of the proceedings of the investigation and of investigations generally under
this section.
(2)The Secretary concerned shall permit
public comment on each summary made public under paragraph (1) during the
45-day period beginning on the date such summary is made public.
(3)The Secretary concerned shall provide
for the review of any public comments received on a summary under paragraph (2)
by such independent party as the Secretary shall select for purposes of the
review.
(g)Department of
Defense-wide actions(1)The Secretary concerned
shall transmit each report submitted to such Secretary under subsection
(e)(1)(B), and any report submitted to such Secretary under subsection (e)(3),
to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
(2)The Assistant Secretary shall take
appropriate actions to ensure the dissemination throughout the Department of
Defense of any findings and recommendations in the reports submitted to the
Assistant Secretary under paragraph (1) that the Assistant Secretary considers
appropriate to reduce the incidence of suicide in members of the Armed
Forces.
(3)The Assistant Secretary shall take
appropriate actions to ensure the implementation of the findings and
recommendations disseminated under paragraph (2). Such actions shall include
the following:
(A)The establishment and maintenance of
an electronic database for monitoring the implementation of such findings and
recommendations.
(B)A requirement that all officials
responsible for implementing such recommendations update the Assistant
Secretary, not less often than once every six months, on the current status of
the implementation of such recommendations.
(4)Not less often than once every six
months, each Secretary concerned shall, in coordination with the Assistant
Secretary, update any programs and activities of the department concerned
relating to the prevention of suicide in members of the Armed Forces in order
to ensure that such programs and activities incorporate the recommendations of
investigations conducted under this section and such other matters as are
appropriate to reduce the incidence of suicide in members of the Armed
Forces.
.
(2)The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 80 of
such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
1567. Investigations of suicides committed by members of the
Armed
Forces.
.
(b)The
regulations required under section 1567 of title 10, United States Code (as
added by subsection (a)), shall be prescribed not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.