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10 U.S.C. § 1501 — System for accounting for missing persons
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Responsibility for Missing Persons.—**
(1)
(A) The Secretary of Defense shall designate a single organization within the Department of Defense to have responsibility for Department matters relating to missing persons from past conflicts, including accounting for missing persons and persons whose remains have not been recovered from the conflict in which they were lost.
(B) The organization designated under this paragraph shall be a Defense Agency or other entity of the Department of Defense outside the military departments and is referred to in this chapter as the “designated Defense Agency”.
(C) The head of the organization designated under this paragraph is referred to in this chapter as the “designated Agency Director”.
(2) Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense, the responsibilities of the designated Agency Director shall include the following:
(A) Policy, control, and oversight of the program established under [section 1509 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1509&num=0&edition=prelim).
(B) Responsibility for accounting for missing persons from past conflicts, including locating, recovering, and identifying missing persons from past conflicts or their remains after hostilities have ceased.
(C) Coordination for the Department of Defense with other departments and agencies of the United States on all matters concerning missing persons from past conflicts.
(D) Dissemination of appropriate information on the status of missing persons from past conflicts to authorized family members.
(E) Establishment of a means for communication between officials of the designated Defense Agency and family members of missing persons from past conflicts, veterans
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Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-10/section-1501-system-for-accounting-for-missing-persons--5eb6f51914.md
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Source location: Title 10, Chapter 76, § 1501; chapter-076-missing-persons.md
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**(a) Responsibility for Missing Persons.—**
(1)
(A) The Secretary of Defense shall designate a single organization within the Department of Defense to have responsibility for Department matters relating to missing persons from past conflicts, including accounting for missing persons and persons whose remains have not been recovered from the conflict in which they were lost.
(B) The organization designated under this paragraph shall be a Defense Agency or other entity of the Department of Defense outside the military departments and is referred to in this chapter as the “designated Defense Agency”.
(C) The head of the organization designated under this paragraph is referred to in this chapter as the “designated Agency Director”.
(2) Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense, the responsibilities of the designated Agency Director shall include the following:
(A) Policy, control, and oversight of the program established under [section 1509 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1509&num=0&edition=prelim).
(B) Responsibility for accounting for missing persons from past conflicts, including locating, recovering, and identifying missing persons from past conflicts or their remains after hostilities have ceased.
(C) Coordination for the Department of Defense with other departments and agencies of the United States on all matters concerning missing persons from past conflicts.
(D) Dissemination of appropriate information on the status of missing persons from past conflicts to authorized family members.
(E) Establishment of a means for communication between officials of the designated Defense Agency and family members of missing persons from past conflicts, veterans service organizations, concerned citizens, and the public on the Department’s efforts to account for missing persons from past conflicts, including a readily available means for communication of their views and recommendations to the designated Agency Director.
(3) In carrying out the responsibilities established under this subsection, the designated Agency Director shall be responsible for the coordination for such purposes within the Department of Defense among the military departments, the Joint Staff, and the commanders of the combatant commands.
(4) The designated Agency Director shall establish policies, which shall apply uniformly throughout the Department of Defense, for personnel accounting (including locating, recovering, and identifying missing persons from past conflicts or their remains after hostilities have ceased).
**(b) Uniform DoD Procedures.—**
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe procedures, to apply uniformly throughout the Department of Defense, for—
(A) the determination of the status of persons described in subsection (c); and
(B) for the systematic, comprehensive, and timely collection, analysis, review, dissemination, and periodic update of information related to such persons.
(2) Such procedures may provide for the delegation by the Secretary of Defense of any responsibility of the Secretary under this chapter to the Secretary of a military department.
(3) Such procedures shall be prescribed in a single directive applicable to all elements of the Department of Defense.
(4) As part of such procedures, the Secretary may provide for the extension, on a case-by-case basis, of any time limit specified in section 1502, 1503, or 1504 of this title. Any such extension may not be for a period in excess of the period with respect to which the extension is provided. Subsequent extensions may be provided on the same basis.
**(c) Covered Persons.—**
(1) [Section 1502 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1502&num=0&edition=prelim) applies in the case of any member of the armed forces on active duty—
(A) who becomes involuntarily absent as a result of a hostile action or under circumstances suggesting that the involuntary absence is a result of a hostile action; and
(B) whose status is undetermined or who is unaccounted for.
(2) [Section 1502 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1502&num=0&edition=prelim) applies in the case of any other person who is a citizen of the United States and a civilian officer or employee of the Department of Defense or (subject to paragraph (3)) an employee of a contractor of the Department of Defense—
(A) who serves in direct support of, or accompanies, the armed forces in the field under orders and becomes involuntarily absent as a result of a hostile action or under circumstances suggesting that the involuntary absence is a result of a hostile action; and
(B) whose status is undetermined or who is unaccounted for.
(3) The Secretary of Defense shall determine, with regard to a pending or ongoing military operation, the specific employees, or groups of employees, of contractors of the Department of Defense to be considered to be covered by this subsection.
**(d) Primary Next of Kin.—** The individual who is primary next of kin of any person described in subsection (c) may for purposes of this chapter designate another individual to act on behalf of that individual as primary next of kin. The Secretary concerned shall treat an individual so designated as if the individual designated were the primary next of kin for purposes of this chapter. A designation under this subsection may be revoked at any time by the person who made the designation.
**(e) Termination of Applicability of Procedures When Missing Person Is Accounted for.—** The provisions of this chapter relating to boards of inquiry and to the actions by the Secretary concerned on the reports of those boards shall cease to apply in the case of a missing person upon the person becoming accounted for or otherwise being determined to be in a status other than missing.
**(f) Secretary Concerned.—** In this chapter, the term “Secretary concerned” includes, in the case of a civilian officer or employee of the Department of Defense or an employee of a contractor of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of the military department or head of the element of the Department of Defense employing the officer or employee or contracting with the contractor, as the case may be.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** There is in the Department of Defense an Office of the Secretary of Defense. The function of the Office is to assist the Secretary of Defense in carrying out the Secretary’s duties and responsibilities and to carry out such other duties as may be prescribed by law.
**(b)** The Office of the Secretary of Defense is composed of the following:
(1) The Deputy Secretary of Defense.
(2) Repealed. Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 901(a)(2)(A), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3794.]
(3) The Under Secretaries of Defense, as follows:
(A) The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
(B) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.
(C) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
(D) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).
(E) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
(F) The Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.
(4) Other officers who are appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who report directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary without intervening authority, as follows:
(A) The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation.
(B) The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.
(C) The General Counsel of the Department of Defense.
(D) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense.
(5) The Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense, who reports directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary without intervening authority.
(6) The Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense.
(7) The Assistant Secretaries of Defense.
(8) Other officials provided for by law, as follows:
(A) The two Deputy Directors within the Office of the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation under [section 139a(c) of this t
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 10 U.S.C. § 131
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Preliminary Assessment and Recommendation by Commander.—** After receiving information that the whereabouts and status of a person described in [section 1501(c) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1501/c&num=0&edition=prelim) is uncertain and that the absence of the person may be involuntary, the commander of the unit, facility, or area to or in which the person is assigned shall make a preliminary assessment of the circumstances. If, as a result of that assessment, the commander concludes that the person is missing, the commander shall—
(1) recommend that the person be placed in a missing status; and
(2) not later than 10 days after receiving such information, transmit a report containing that recommendation to the Secretary concerned in accordance with procedures prescribed under [section 1501(b) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1501/b&num=0&edition=prelim).
**(b) Transmission of Advisory Copy to Theater Component Commander.—** When transmitting a report under subsection (a)(2) recommending that a person be placed in a missing status, the commander transmitting that report shall transmit an advisory copy of the report to the theater component commander with jurisdiction over the missing person.
**(c) Safeguarding and Forwarding of Records.—** A commander making a preliminary assessment under subsection (a) with respect to a missing person shall (in accordance with procedures prescribed under [section 1501 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1501&num=0&edition=prelim)) safeguard and forward for official use any information relating to the whereabouts and status of the missing person that result
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 10 U.S.C. § 1502
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** The Secretary concerned shall, upon the enlistment or appointment of a person in the armed forces, require that the person specify in writing the person or persons, if any, other than that person’s primary next of kin or immediate family, to whom information on the whereabouts and status of the member shall be provided if such whereabouts and status are investigated under chapter 76 of this title. The Secretary shall periodically, and whenever the member is deployed as part of a contingency operation or in other circumstances specified by the Secretary, require that such designation be reconfirmed, or modified, by the member.
**(b)** The Secretary concerned shall, upon the request of a member, permit the member to revise the person or persons specified by the member under subsection (a) at any time. Any such revision shall be in writing.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 10 U.S.C. § 655
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Program Required; Covered Conflicts.—** The Secretary of Defense shall implement a comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and fully resourced program to account for persons described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of [section 1513(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1513/1&num=0&edition=prelim) who are unaccounted for from the following conflicts:
(1) World War II during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, including members of the armed forces who were lost during flight operations in the Pacific theater of operations covered by section 576 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65; [10 U.S.C. 1501](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1501&num=0&edition=prelim) note).
(2) The Cold War during the period beginning on September 2, 1945, and ending on August 21, 1991.
(3) The Korean War during the period beginning on June 27, 1950, and ending on January 31, 1955.
(4) The Indochina War era during the period beginning on July 8, 1959, and ending on May 15, 1975.
(5) The Persian Gulf War during the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on February 28, 1991.
(6) Such other conflicts in which members of the armed forces served as the Secretary of Defense may designate.
**(b) Implementation.—**
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall implement the program within the Department of Defense through the designated Agency Director.
(2)
(A) The Secretary shall assign or detail to the designated Defense Agency on a full-time basis a senior medical examiner from the personnel of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. The primary duties of the medical examiner so assigned or detailed shall inc
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 10 U.S.C. § 1509
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Definitions** In this section:
(1) **Covered element of the intelligence community** — The term “covered element of the intelligence community” means an element of the intelligence community that is not an element of the Department of Defense.
(2) **National security satellite** — The term “national security satellite” means a satellite weighing over 400 pounds whose principle purpose is to support the national security or intelligence needs of the United States Government.
(3) **United States** — The term “United States” means the several States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the United States.
**(b) Requirement** Beginning January 1, 2021, except as provided in subsection (c), a covered element of the intelligence community may not award a contract for a national security satellite if the satellite uses a star tracker that is not produced in the United States, including with respect to both the software and the hardware of the star tracker.
**(c) Exception** The head of a covered element of the intelligence community may waive the requirement under subsection (b) if, on a case-by-case basis, the head certifies in writing to the congressional intelligence committees that—
(1) there is no available star tracker produced in the United States that meets the mission and design requirements of the national security satellite for which the star tracker will be used;
(2) the cost of a star tracker produced in the United States is unreasonable, based on a market survey; or
(3) such waiver is necessary for the national security interests of the United States based on an urgent and compelling need.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 50 U.S.C. § 3001
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
For the purpose of this subchapter—
(1) “agency” means an Executive agency and a military department;
(2) “employee” means an employee in or under an agency who is a citizen or national of the United States or an alien admitted to the United States for permanent residence, but does not include a part-time or intermittent employee or native labor casually hired on an hourly or daily basis. However, such an employee who enters a status listed in paragraph (5)(A)–(E) of this section—
(A) inside the continental United States; or
(B) who is a resident at or in the vicinity of his place of employment in a territory or possession of the United States or in a foreign country and who was not living there solely as a result of his employment;
is an employee for the purpose of this subchapter only on a determination by the head of the agency concerned that this status is the proximate result of employment by the agency;
(3) “dependent” means—
(A) a wife;
(B) an unmarried child (including an unmarried dependent stepchild or adopted child) under 21 years of age;
(C) a dependent mother or father;
(D) a dependent designated in official records; and
(E) an individual determined to be dependent by the head of the agency concerned or his designee;
(4) “active service” means active Federal service by an employee;
(5) “missing status” means the status of an employee who is in active service and is officially carried or determined to be absent in a status of—
(A) missing;
(B) missing in action;
(C) interned in a foreign country;
(D) captured, beleaguered, or besieged by a hostile force; or
(E) detained in a foreign country against his will;
but does not include the status of an employee for a period during which he is officially determined to be
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 5 U.S.C. § 5561
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Subsequent Review.—** The Secretary concerned shall conduct subsequent inquiries into the whereabouts and status of any person determined by the Secretary under [section 1504 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section1504&num=0&edition=prelim) to be in a missing status.
**(b) Frequency of Subsequent Reviews.—** The Secretary concerned shall conduct inquiries into the whereabouts and status of a person under subsection (a) upon receipt of information that may result in a change of status of the person. The Secretary concerned shall appoint a board to conduct such inquiries.
**(c) Action Upon Discovery or Receipt of Information.—**
(1) Whenever any United States intelligence agency or other element of the Government finds or receives information that may be related to a missing person, the information shall promptly be forwarded to the Secretary of Defense.
(2) Upon receipt of information under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall as expeditiously as possible ensure that the information is added to the appropriate case file for that missing person and notify (A) the designated missing person’s counsel for that person, and (B) the primary next of kin and any previously designated person for the missing person of the existence of that information.
(3) The Secretary of Defense, with the advice of the missing person’s counsel notified under paragraph (2), shall determine whether the information is significant enough to require a board review under this section.
**(d) Conduct of Proceedings.—** If it is determined that such a board should be appointed, the appointment of, and activities before, a board appointed under this section shall be governed by the provisions of [section 1504 of this title](https://us
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 10 U.S.C. § 1505
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 1419
TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES
§ 1501
Sec.
1501a.
Public-private partnerships; other forms of
support.
1502.
Missing persons: initial report.
1503.
Actions of Secretary concerned; initial board
inquiry.
1504.
Subsequent board of inquiry.
1505.
Further review.
1506.
Personnel files.
1507.
Recommendation of status of death.
1508.
Judicial review.
1509.
Program to resolve missing person cases.
1510.
Applicability to Coast Guard.
1511.
Return alive of person declared missing or
dead.
1512.
Effect on State law.
1513.
Definitions.
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
2014—Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title IX, § 916(f)(2), Dec.
19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3479, added item 1501a and substituted
‘‘Program to resolve missing person cases’’ for ‘‘Pro-
gram to resolve preenactment missing person cases’’ in
item 1509.
2009—Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, § 541(b), Oct. 28,
2009, 123 Stat. 2298, substituted ‘‘Program to resolve
preenactment
missing
person
cases’’
for
‘‘Preenactment cases’’ in item 1509.
1996—Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title V, § 578(f)(2)(B),
Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2537, struck out ‘‘, special inter-
est’’ after ‘‘Preenactment’’ in item 1509.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
DETERMINATION AND REPORTING OF MEMBERS MISSING,
ABSENT
UNKNOWN, ABSENT
WITHOUT
LEAVE,
AND
DUTY STATUS-WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title V, § 548, Dec. 27, 2021, 135
Stat. 1714, provided that:
‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF MISSING PERSONS RE-
PORTING.—The Secretary of Defense shall instruct each
Secretary of a military department to perform a com-
prehensive review of the policies and procedures of the
military department concerned to determine and re-
port a member of an Armed Force under the jurisdic-
tion of such Secretary of a military
Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 10 U.S.C. § 1501
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