Commandant
2100 Second Street, S.W.
United States Coast Guard
Washington, DC 20593-0001
Staff Symbol: G-WPM
Phone: (202) 267-1908
COMDTINST 6510.1
MAY 12 1997
COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 6510.1
Subj: USING THE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA) SPECIMEN REPOSITORY TO
IDENTIFY HUMAN REMAINS
Ref:
(a) Medical Manual, COMDTINST M6000.1 (series)
(b) Prevention of Bloodborne Pathogen Transmission, COMDTINST M6220.8 (series)
1.
PURPOSE. To establish policy and procedures on collecting and submitting DNA specimens
to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) Specimen Repository for use in
identifying human remains.
2.
ACTION. Area and district commanders, commanders of maintenance and logistic
commands, commanding officers of Headquarters units, Superintendent of the Academy,
Assistant Commandants for Directorates, Chief Counsel, and special staff offices at
Headquarters shall ensure compliance with this instruction's contents.
3.
DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. This instruction cancels requirements for collecting duplicate
dental panoral radiographs (DDPRs). Reference (a) will be changed to reflect the contents of
this instruction.
4.
BACKGROUND.
a.
The Department of Defense (DoD) has changed its method of identifying its service
members' remains. DoD has adopted deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing because it
significantly improves the identification rate in mass casualty situations where high
explosives or high-impact forces produce unrecognizable remains. DNA specimens
consist of a small amount of dried blood and an oral swab.
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