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| | Military tracking bill passes Senate
Thursday, Jun 24, 2004 By Alison Vekshin Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- An amendment that requires the Defense Department to improve its system for families to track service members wounded overseas was approved by the Senate late Tuesday. While the Defense Department does have a system in place, "the problem is that it doesn't work very well," said the amendment sponsor, Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. He said the tendency is for the injured serviceman or woman to enter a "blackhole" where information about their status is hard to obtain. The amendment was added by voice vote to a 2005 defense authorization bill. It also authorizes $10 million for research into new medical combat equipment. On family notification, the measure calls for the defense secretary to establish a procedure for notifying families of an injury to a relative in combat, followed by regular updates on the health and location of the wounded service member. The system must be set up within 120 days after the bill passes. Pentagon officials have admitted the system needs to be reformed, Pryor said. He said the measure's aim is to prompt the department to either be more consistent with its notification policy or to create a new one. One option is to set up a Web site where a family member can use a password to access the status of an injured loved one, Pryor said. Another option would be to require the Defense Department to call the family at least once a day or with any change of status or location. -- 30 -- |
