[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 160 (Friday, August 17, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43241-43243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20748]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.

ACTION: Notice to Add a System of Records.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy proposes to add a system of records

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notice to its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 
1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

DATES: This action will be effective on September 17, 2001 unless 
comments are received that would result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Department of the Navy, PA/FOA Policy 
Branch, Chief of Naval Operations (N09B10), 2000 Navy Pentagon, 
Washington, DC 20350-2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Doris Lama at (202) 685-6545 or 
DSN 325-6545.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of the Navy's record system 
notices for records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the Federal Register 
and are available from the address above. The proposed system report, 
as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the Privacy Act, was submitted on 
August 8, 2001, to the House Committee on Government Reform, the Senate 
Committee on Governmental Affairs, and the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) pursuant to paragraph 4c of Appendix I to OMB Circular No. 
A-130, `Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About 
Individuals,' dated February 8, 1996, (61 FR 6427, February 20, 1996).

    Dated: August 13, 2001.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
N06150-5

System name:
    Millennium Cohort Study

System location:
    Naval Health Research Center, Emerging Illness Division, P.O. Box 
85122, San Diego CA 92186-5122.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    An initial probability-based, cross-sectional sample of 100,000 
U.S. Armed Forces personnel (active duty Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and 
Coast Guard and reserve/National Guard), as of October 2000, that will 
be followed prospectively by postal surveys every 3 years over a 21-
year period. The initial sample of 100,000 persons will be comprised of 
30,000 individuals who have been deployed to Southwest Asia, Bosnia, or 
Kosovo since August 1997, and 70,000 individuals who have not been 
deployed to these conflicts. In October 2004 and October 2007, a random 
sample of 20,000 new Armed Forces personnel will be added to the 
cohort. The total of 140,000 individuals will be followed until the 
year 2022.

Categories of records in the system:
    Demographic data, such as name, Social Security Number, rank, 
grade, gender, military occupational speciality. Health data, such as 
self-reported medical conditions and symptoms, smoking and drinking 
behaviors. Validated instruments will be incorporated to capture self-
assessed physical and mental functional status (Short Form-36 
Veterans), psychosocial assessment (Patient Health Questionnaire), and 
posttraumatic stress disorder (Patient Checklist-17.
    Information obtained from the survey responses will be supplemented 
with deployment, occupational, vaccination, and healthcare utilization 
data) related to individual health status.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 U.S.C. 136, Under 
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; and E.O. 9397 (SSN); 
DoD Protocol Number 32227; Sec 743, National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 1999; Sec 735, National Defense Appropriations Act for 
Fiscal Year 2001; Defense Technology Objective MD.25 Deployed Force 
Health Protection: Predicting Warfighter Resilience.

Purpose(s):
    To create a probability-based, cross sectional database of selected 
veterans who have, or have not, deployed overseas so that various 
longitudinal health and research studies may be conducted over a 21 
year period. The database will be used:
    a. To systematically collect population-based demographic and 
health data to evaluate the health of Armed Forces personnel throughout 
their careers and after leaving service.
    b. To evaluate the impact of operational deployments on various 
measures of health over time including medically unexplained symptoms 
and chronic disease such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
    c. To serve as a foundation upon which other routinely captured 
medical and deployment data may be added to answer future questions 
regarding the health risks of operational deployment, occupations, and 
general service in the Armed Forces.
    d. To examine characteristics of service in the Armed Forces 
associated with common clinician-diagnosed diseases and with scores on 
several standardized self-reported health inventories for physical and 
psychological functional status.
    e. To provide a data repository and available representative Armed 
Forces cohort that future investigators and policy makers might use to 
study important aspects of service in the Armed Forces including 
disease outcomes among a Armed Forces cohort.
    In addition to revealing changes in veterans' health status over 
time, the Millennium Cohort Study will serve as a data repository, 
providing a solid foundation upon which additional epidemiologic 
studies may be constructed.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained 
therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 522a(b)(3):
    To the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) for (1) considering 
individual claims for benefits for which that DVA is responsible; and 
(2) for use in scientific, medical and other analysis regarding health 
outcomes research associated with military service.
    To the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention for use in scientific, medical and other 
analysis regarding health outcome research associated with military 
service.

    Note: All disclosures to the DVA and HHS must have prior 
approval of the Naval Health Research Center Institutional Review 
Board and a Memorandum of Understanding must be entered into to 
ensure the right and obligations of the signatories are clear. 
Access to data (1) is provided on need-to-know basis only; (2) must 
adhere to the rule of minimization in that only information 
necessary to accomplish the purpose for which the disclosure is 
being made is releasable; and (3) must follow strict guidelines 
established in the data sharing agreement.

    To the Social Security Administration (SSA) for considering 
individual claims for benefits for which that SSA is responsible.
    The DoD ``Blanket Routine Uses'' that appear at the beginning of 
the Navy's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this 
system.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Automated databases; electronic records are stored on magnetic 
media.

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Retrievability:
    Records are retrieved by military service member's name and Social 
Security Number.

Safeguards:
    Access to areas where records are maintained is limited to 
authorized personnel. Access control devices protect areas during 
working hours and intrusion alarm devices during non-duty hours. Access 
to data is provided on need-to-know basis only. Password or other user 
code controls access to data.

Retention and disposal:
    Disposition pending (until the National Archives and Records 
Administration has approved the retention and disposition schedule for 
these records, treat then as permanent.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Policy Official: Commanding Officer, Naval Health Research Center, 
Box 85122, San Diego, CA 92186-5122.
    Record Holder: Senior Investigator, The Millennium Cohort Study, 
Naval Health Research Center, Emerging Illness Division, P.O. Box 
85122, San Diego, CA 92186-5122.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals seeking to determine whether information about 
themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries 
to the Senior Investigator, The Millennium Cohort Study, Naval Health 
Research Center, Emerging Illness Division, P.O. Box 85122, San Diego, 
CA 92186-5122.
    The request should contain the service member's name and Social 
Security Number and must be signed by the service member requesting the 
information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking access to information about themselves 
contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Senior 
Investigator, The Millennium Cohort Study, Naval Health Research 
Center, Emerging Illness Division, PO Box 85122, San Diego, CA 92186-
5122.
    The request should contain the service member's name and Social 
Security Number and must be signed by the service member requesting the 
information.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    The Navy's rules for accessing records, and for contesting contents 
and appealing initial agency determinations are published in Secretary 
of the Navy Instruction 5211.5; 32 CFR part 701; or may be obtained 
from the system manager.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Individual participant survey instruments; Composite Health Care 
System; Corporate Executive Information Systems; Defense Manpower Data 
Center; Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System; Civilian 
Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services; survey research 
instruments and health research records at Naval Medical Center, San 
Diego; and individual physical exams and biological specimens.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

[FR Doc. 01-20748 Filed 8-16-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-08-M