DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
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OFFICE SYMBOL                                                                                      Date

MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: Battalion/Brigade Policy Memorandum #16 - Serious Incident Reporting (SIR)

1.	References:
a.	Army Regulation (AR) 190-45 (Law Enforcement Reporting), 30 Mar 07.
b.	AR 381-12 (Threat Awareness and Reporting Program) (TARP), 4 Oct 10.
c.	AR 600-20 (Army Command Policy), 6 Nov 14.
d.	AR 600-63 (Army Health Promotion), 7 May 07 (RAR 7 Sep 10).
e.	DA Pam 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction, and Suicide Prevention), 17 Dec 09 (RAR 7 Sep 10).
f.	AR 15-6 (Procedures for Investigating Officers and Board Officers), 2 Oct 06.
g.	AR 380-5 (Department of the Army Information Security Program), 29 Sep 00.
h.	AR 25-55 (Department of the Army Freedom of Information Act Program), 1 Nov 97.
i.	AR 340-21 (The Army Privacy Policy), 5 Jul 85.
j.	AR 710-2 (Supply Policy Below the National Level), 28 Mar 08.
k.	AR 190-30 (Military Police Investigations), 1 Nov 05.

l.	AR 190-53 (Interception of Wire or Oral Communications for Law Enforcement Purposes), 3 Nov 86.

m.	AR 380-13 (Acquisition and Storage of Information Concerning Non-Affiliated Persons and Organizations), 30 Sep 74.

n.	AR 381-10 (U.S. Army Intelligence Activities), 3 May 07.

o.	Army Directive (AD) 2010-01 (Conduct of AR 15-6 Investigations into Suspected Suicides and Requirements for Suicide Incident Briefs), 26 Mar 10.

p.	AD 2010-02 (Guidance on Reporting Requirements and Redacting Investigation Reports of Deaths and Fatalities), 26 Mar 10.

2.	Purpose. This policy establishes the battalion/brigade Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the timely reporting of serious incidents affecting the  unit.

3.	A serious incident is any actual or alleged incident, accident, misconduct, or act, primarily criminal in nature, which because of its severity, potential for adverse publicity, potential consequences, and effect on readiness or the perception of readiness, warrants timely notice to HQDA.

4.	Commanders are required to report serious incidents that occur in their commands in accordance with (IAW) reference 1a. Any incident where an OCONUS Soldier (or a command-sponsored Immediate Family member or DA Civilian (DAC) employee) is the subject or victim of a serious incident that occurs either on or off a military installation, is reportable. Incidents where an Immediate Family member or DAC employee is the subject or victim of a similar incident off post in the U.S. are not reportable to HQDA absent other connections to the Army. The reporting includes incidents involving
military (Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve), DAC, and Immediate Family members, as outlined above, assigned or attached. An SIR is a commander's tool to notify the chain of command. Commanders always have the prerogative to report incidents they feel warrant official notification to battalion/brigade HQ. Any incident that does not meet the threshold of an SIR may be reported as an Incident Report (IR). If after further review, an IR can always be upgraded to an SIR. Reporting an incident to the battalion/brigade senior leadership via direct telephonic contact does not obviate commanders from their responsibility to submit an SIR to S-3 Operations.

5.	In addition to local chain of command notification, the commander or command team representative must submit SIR/incident reports to battalion/brigade S3. Submit Initial SIRs and IRs within 24 hours. Submit Add-on or Correction Reports to the as soon as they become available.

6.	Commanders are responsible for ensuring staffs and subordinate commanders are cognizant of the provisions of all reporting procedures. The three types of SIRs are Initial Submission, Add-on, and Correction. SIRs will contain a detailed narrative summary of the incident (who, what, where, when, why, and how) and the operational impact, if applicable.

7.	Reports submitted IAW AR 190-45 (reference 1a.) are law enforcement reports. Assign a proper security classification according to AR 380-5 (reference 1g. above) or mark with a minimum classification of Unclassified//For Official Use Only according to AR 25-55 (reference 1h.). Release reports or any information from them according to AR 25-55 and this Policy Memorandum. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a) applies to SIRs (see AR 340-21, reference 1i.). Restrict dissemination and use of SIRs only to persons who need the reports to perform their official duties.

8.	An initial Commander's Suspected Suicide Event Report (CSSER will be submitted as an enclosure for SIRs involving a Suicide that result in death.

9.	SIRs Involving Suicide Attempts. When a suicide attempt results in injury or loss of duty lime, commanders will also conduct a Line of Duty (LOO) investigation and report finding to the higher headquarters. 

10.	SIRs Involving Suicides. Commanders will conduct an AR 15-6 (reference 1f.) collateral investigation for all suicides IAW reference 1o. As part of the investigative process, commanders should insist on the use of the psychological autopsy to assist in ascertaining the manner of death. Commanders will use the same investigator for the LOO and 15-6. Reference 1b, requires commanders to expeditiously report actual or attempted suicide of DA personnel with access to classified information to the nearest Counterintelligence (Cl) Office when the member has or had an intelligence background, was assigned to a special mission unit, or had access to classified information within the last year. Additionally, DA Pam 600-24, paragraph 2-5(14) (reference 1e.), and require commanders to forward the Commander’s Suspected Suicide Event Report (CSSER) within 30 days of occurrence to the higher headquarters. Information from the AR 15-6 investigation will support the CSSER.

11.	The point of contact is the S3 at (123) 456-7890.

FIRST M. LAST 
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Commanding

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