Casualty and Mortuary Affairs

Army Fatal Incident Family Brief Program

By Order of the Secretary of the Army:

JAMES C. MCCONVILLE
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

MARK F. AVERILL
Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army

History. This publication is a major revision.

Summary. This regulation prescribes policies that govern Army fatal incident Family briefs of investigations conducted pursuant to AR 15-6 into fatalities caused by military training, operational, or friendly fire accidents; hostile incidents; or confirmed suicides. It expands the Department of the Army policy for releasing results of AR 15-6 death investigations into the facts, findings, and recommendations of the cause of death conducted by all Army activities.

Applicability. This regulation applies to the Regular Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve while serving on active duty.

Proponent and exception authority. The proponent of this regulation is the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1. The proponent has the authority to approve exceptions or waivers to this regulation that are consistent with controlling law and regulations. The proponent may delegate this approval authority, in writing, to a division chief within the proponent agency or its direct reporting unit or field operating agency, in the grade of colonel or the civilian equivalent. Activities may request a waiver to this regulation by providing justification that includes a full analysis of the expected benefits and must include formal review by the activity's senior legal officer. All waiver requests will be endorsed by the commander or senior leader of the requesting activity and forwarded through their higher headquarters to the policy proponent. Refer to AR 25-30 for specific requirements.

Army internal control process. This regulation contains internal control provisions in accordance with AR 11-2 and identifies key internal controls that must be evaluated (see app B).

Supplementation. Supplementation of this regulation and establishment of agency, command, and installation forms are prohibited without prior approval from the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 (DAPE-ZA), 300 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0300.

Suggested improvements. Users are invited to send comments or suggested improvements on DA FormDA FormDepartment of the Army form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) directly to Commander, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (AHRC-PDC-P), Fort Knox, KY 40122-5405.

Distribution. This regulation is available in electronic media only and is intended for the Regular Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve.

*This regulation supersedes AR 638-34, dated 19 February 2015, and Army Directive 2019–34, dated 21 October 2019.