The Honorable Michael B.DonleySecretary of the Air ForceDepartment of the Air Force1670 Air Force PentagonWashington D.C.20330-1670

Dear Secretary Donley,

Staff Sergeant Ingles DosReis died at the age of 22 in an auto accident onAugust 28, 2009. He was stationed at Aviano Air force Base in Aviano, Italy.

At the time of his death, his 2 year old son and young wife were preparing to enjoytheir evening meal at their home in Italy. Across the ocean in New Jersey, hisparent's, sister and 3 year old nephew were enjoying the afternoon.Upon hearing this horrifYing news Staff Sergeant DosReis's parents immediatelyflew to Italy to be with their son and family.

Ed and LizDosReis first viewed their son within 24 hours of their arrival, and whensummoned to identifY their son a second time 2 days later (48 hours from their firstviewing), they were horrified to find Ingles had been kept in an unrefrigeratedenvironment.Their utter disbelief turned into profound anguish when they discovered, andwitnessed, their son's deterioration and lack of postmortem care.The lack of a mortuary affairs provision in our current SOFA(Status of ForcesAgreement) with Italy forced the United States to turn over legal and medicalcustody of Staff Sergeant DosReis to the Italian Military Police at the time of hisdeath.

The United States Military was not permitted to intervene and provide properpreservation.Proper handling of a United States Serviceman was denied.What was not denied this proud soldier was the beginning of his family's anguishthat will be felt for life in their hearts and viewed for life in their minds.

So many unanswerable questions have been raised since that horrifYing moment,but the one that brings the greatest consternation is how could the United StatesMilitary allow this to happen?Why was only a Mother's despair the impetus for intervention?On his journey back to the United States, Staff Sergeant DosReis was afforded truemilitary respect. Where was this respect at the time of his death?

Is death not the ultimate time to set aside cultural and legal differences to care forthe fallen and those loved ones left behind?[s death not the ultimate time to display our humanity?

Time is too long for those who grieve.Please change this agreement out of respect for ourservicemen and their families.

Sincerely,

Address and date

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Dr. Robert M.GatesSecretary of Defense1000 Defense PentagonWashington D.C.20301-1000

Dear Dr. Gates,

Staff Sergeant Ingles DosReis died at the age of 22 in an auto accidentOn August 28, 2009. He was stationed at Aviano Air force Base in Aviano, Italy.

At the time of his death, his 2 year old son and young wife were preparing to enjoytheir evening meal at their home in Italy. Across the ocean in New Jersey, hisparent's, sister and 3 year old nephew were enjoying the afternoon.Upon hearing this horrifYing news Staff Sergeant DosReis's parents immediatelyflew to Italy to be with their son and family.

Ed and Liz DosReis first viewed their son within 24 hours of their arrival, and whensummoned to identify their son a second time 2 days later (48 hours from their firstviewing), they were horrified to find Ingles had been kept in an unrefrigeratedenvironmentTheir utter disbelief turned into profound anguish when they discovered, andwitnessed, their son's deterioration and lack of postmortem care.The lack of a mortuary affairs provision in our current SOFA(Status of ForcesAgreement) with Italy forced the United States to turn over legal and medicalcustody of Staff Sergeant DosReis to the Italian Military Police at the time of hisdeath.

The United States Military was not permitted to intervene and provide properpreservation.Proper handling of a United States Serviceman was denied.What was not denied this proud soldier was the beginning of his family's anguishthat will be felt for life in their hearts and viewed for life in their minds.

So many unanswerable questions have been raised since that horrifYing moment,but the one that brings the greatest consternation is how could the United StatesMilitary allow this to happen?Why was only a Mother's despair the impetus for intervention?On his journey back to the United States, Staff Sergeant DosReis was afforded truemilitary respect. Where was this respect at the time of his death?

Is death not the ultimate time to set aside cultural and legal differences to care forthe fallen and those loved ones left behind?Is death not the ultimate time to display our humanity?

Time is too long for those who grieve.Please change this agreement out of respect for ourservicemen and their families.

Sincerely,

address and date

Dffic~ of the secretary

SAFILL1160 Air Foree PentagonWashington DC 20330

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCEWASHINGTON, DC

September 25,2010

The Monorable Frank R. LautenbergUnited States Senator2 Riverside Drive, Suite 505Camden NJ 08101

Dear Senator Lautenberg

This is in reply to your inquiry on behalf of the family of Staff Sergeant Ingles DosReis regardingtheir concerns ofthe Air Force's handling of his remains. rirst and foremost, please accept our sincerecondolence and gratitude for Sergeant DosReis' service. His passing is a tragic loss to us all. UnitedStates authorities are commiued to working closely with local officials to ensure !hat the remains of anyU.S. service member or dependent are properly treated and respected.

On August 28, 2009, Sergeant DosReis was involved in an auto accident outside the base nearAviano, Italy. Following the accidenl, he was transported to an Italian Hospital in Udine, Italy where hewas pronounced dead. Both the location of the accident and the location of the hospital are in separilleItalian jurisdiclioll$, requiring individull1 investigariv" processes in both jurisdictions before the llalianauthorities would authorize the release of Sergeant DosReis's remains. During these investigations,Sergeant DosReis's body was held under the medical/legal jurisdiction of the Italian authorities. Whilethe Armed Forces Medical Examiner's Office regional representative was involved in the investigation,the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Italy has no specific regulations or guidanceregarding Mortuary Affairs; consequently, they had no legal authority to intervene for the release of theremains inlo American Forces care.

Following release by Italian authorities, Sergeant DosReis's remains were received at the U.S.Mortuary in Italy on Wednesday, September 2, 2009. After his remains were prepared at the VicelWlfacility, Sergeant DosReis was a part of the dignified transfer from Italy to DelawaTC, arriving at the AirForce Mortuary Affairs Operation (AFMAO) Center's Port Mortuary on Seplcmber 4,2009, atapproximately 1230 a.m. AFMAO mortuary specialists performed a quality assurance inspection of hisremains and identified the requirement for additionallrealmen!. Tllking illlo consideration the desires ofthe DosReis family, steps taken by the mortuary specialists enabled a private viewing at the receivingfuneral home. The receiving funeral director, military escort and family were informed of SergeantDosReis's condition prior to the llITival of remains.

In response to the families' specific additional concerns, we provide the following information:

Question I: "Why did it take sO long for a representative from the mi li18ry to arrive at thehospital when his Commander was the second American at the accidenl sitc7"

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On August 28, 2009, Italian emergency personnel transported Sergeant DosReis byhelicopter from the scene of the aceidenlto the regional medical facility in Udine, 60 kilometers away.USAF personnel from Sergeant DosReis's unit were notified and arrived on the scene of the accident, butwere not permitted to escort Sergeant DosReis in the helicopter. Immediately following the helicopter'sdeparture, members of the unit mobilized to rendezvous at the hospital. As part of establishedprocedures. they contacted a base Chaplain to join them as part of the team traveling to the hospitaL Ittook 20-25 minutes to rendezvous with the Chaplain and then another hour 10 make the trip from the baseto the hospital in Udine. The three-person team arrived at the hospital appro,.;imately 90 minutes after thehelicopter left the accident site.

Question 2: "Why was my daughter in law allowed to view my son's body withoutliaison Ottransl.torT'

Mrs. Katherine DosReis was notified of the accident at the same time that Italian authoritiesdecided to transport Scrgeant DosReis to Udine. This notification wa.~made by another spouse within thesquadron whose role it is to support families on behalf oflhe unit commander (this position is known as aKey Spouse). Based on this phone call, Mrs. DosReis traveled under her own power to the hospital inUdine and arrived approximately 20-30 minutes prior to the Air Force team. Once at the hospital, anddue to her status as ne,.;t-of-kin,lhe Italian medical authorities allowed her to view the body immediately.Italian medical authorities present at the time possessed English language skins; therefor<:. a translatorwas not required. Once the unit team and Chaplain arrived, they made contact with Mrs. DosReis andserved as the official liaisons /Tom the Air Force.

Question 3: "Why If the Air Force knew when we were arriving in Italy was there not a lIaison ortrllMlalor waiting for us at the h<>$p,tal?"

The parents of Sergeant DooReis arrived in Venice, Italy, on Augusl 29, 2009 and were mel at theairport by the unit commander and the first sergeant. The parents were escorted to Aviano Air Base,checked into lodging. and then were escorted to the hospital in Udine to view their son's body. At thistime Mrs. Katherine DosReis returned to the hospital but again drove separately from the team that WllS

accompanying the parents. The unit worked through the medical authorities to arrange a viewing for thefamily that afternoon, with the unit commander and first sergeant aCling as the offIcial liaisons. This wasconsidered by the Italian authorities to be a family viewing, not an official identification by the family,which would have required the presence of Italian medical and legal authorities. Due 10 this, translationwas not required, although had the need for translation arisen during the family viewing, the Vdinemedical staff had personnel available on site that spoke English. The official identification of the body infront of ItalIan authorities occurred on Monday, August 31, 2009. During that meeting, officialrepresentative,; oftlle Italian legal and medical commu<lities as well as the US Armed Forces MedicalExaminer from Landstuhl, Germany, were present and translation services were llvailable.

Question 4. "Why were we not told that thc halians hod medical and legal jurisdiction

of our son's body until days laler'?"

Initially, the Italians had clear medical and legal jurisdiction over the body. This information wasprovided to the family on Saturday, August 29, 2009, when the process for official identification, autopsy,and eventual release to US custody was explained. This practice is in accordance with the SOFA, It isour desire to retrieve the remains of US service members as quickly as possible; however, there istypically a need for local authorities to investigate" (/eath, which may delay recovery of remains.

Question 5: "If the military was aware of the SOFA agreement and its lack of

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preservation or refrigeration were (sic) we not informed and why are the Americans service personnel andthere familie:; not aware of this?"

The SOFA does not speak directly to preservation of remains. In other cases where the remainsof US military members have been handled by Italian authorities, (both before and after SergeantDosReis), we have not wimessed any lack of preservation or refrigeration. As a result, US authorities hadno reason to suspect that preservation would be an issue. It was not until Monday, August 31, 2009,during the official identification visit that the signs of deterioration were noted. At that point it was toolate in the process and the affects could not be reversed.

Ouestion 6: "How could there be no information available to the public on these issuesthe US government nas been in Italy since \945. My son's deatl, was I\ot the first nor will it be the las!?"

Finally, we would again like to express our condolenCes to Mrs. Katherine DooReis, as well asSergeant DosReis's parents. We honor Staff Sergeant DosReis's service and we deeply regret this tragic

loss.

To ensure tnat an incident ormis n&\lIe is not eJ\.peIiel\Ced by anotller tnilitary family, USAFE.has raised your concerns with the Joint Italian Military Commission, as referenced in the correspondencesigned by Colonel Brian Kelly, which is attached in your inquiry. Additional preventative measures takeninclude, employing several Italian-speaking liaisons to interface between the Italian heaithcare system andthe Air Force. Upon notification of the death ofaservicemember, these liaisons will ensu,e properpreservation of any human remains until final disposition.

The United Slates Air Forces Europe/Judge Advocate (USAFElJA) conducted a review of ourSOFA agreements to deteonine if any future action may be taken to prevent the delay in release ofremains. USAFFJJA's review efforts culminated in the attached letter signed by Lieutenant GeneralHarding in May 20 IO. USAFE repons that there have been no incidents of this nature, prior to SergeantIngles DosReis and there have been no reports of mistreatment of remains since. Accordingly, it has beendetermined that there is nO plan to renegotiate any agreements to include additional provisions for thehandling of human remains at this time.

No US government official expected this outcome; therefore, nO information was withheldpurposefully from the DosReis family.

Sincerely

KELLY L. GOGGIN, Colonel, USAFChief, CorwessiolUlllnquiry DivisionOffice of Legislative Liaison

Attachment:Lt Gen Harding Letter (May 20 10)

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