UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE mo DEFENSE PENTAGON wast-?moron. no. 20301 4000 MID READINESS HAY 2 4 203 The Honorable Eric H. Holder Ir. Attorney General U.S. Department ofJustioc 950 Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Attorney General Holder: I am pleased to provide the Department of Defense response to your ?Guidance to Agencies Regm?ng Submission of Relevant Federal Records to the National Instant Background Check System Published Mamh 2013. The Department of Defense has been submitting its ?prohibited persons? data to NICS since 1998. We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Btneau of Investigation?s Criminal Justice Information Services on the provision and use of prohibited person?s data. The enclosure provides the information requested in the Guidance. I hope this ful?lls the requirement of the published Department of Justice guidance and provides the information requested. For timber information, my point of contact for NICS reporting is Mr. John Awtrey, Director, Law Enforcement Policy and Support, who may be reached at either 571.372.1989 orjohnawtrey@osd.pentagon.mil. Well: dine Enclosure: As stated Enclosm-e: The law enforcement agencies of the Military Services perform the some functions for the that civilian police and criminal investigative agencies perform for states, cities and towns in the United States. They maintain and use Criminal Justice Information (C11) Record Management Systems (RMS) to collect. share and report CH. ?they provide 011 to the various FBI criminal justice information systems, National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Integrated Automate Fingerprint identi?cation System Identi?cation Index (Ill), Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), and NICS, in the some manner as their civilian counterparts. In addition, the Departmem of Defense's military judicial system, under the Uniform Code of MilitaryI Justice (UCMJ), provides disposition information to the same systems through law enforcement agencies. DoD?s ability to report to NICS is due in large part to the established system of reporting qualifying information to NCIC and ill, for to search and retrieve, as a part of normal crimiml justice business. This reporting takes place from the myriad of law enforcement agencies in directly to those systems; not from a central Cl] RMS. While this enhances DoD?s ability to make all pertinent records available to NICS in a timely fashion, it prevents the Departurent from providing a count of the number of records provided. DoD?s NICS reporting can be broken down into the following three areas: 1. Federal prohibitors for which cmtes records and reports to NICS, with the men-Is of reporting by the Department?s law enforcement agencies: unscrew max I) PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN CONVICTED CURRENTLY (WW REPORTING IN ANY COURT or A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT FOR TERM EXCEEDING ONE YEAR 922cm) PERSONS WHO ARE FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE {Deserters} 922(c)(3) PERSONS wno ARE UNLAWFUL USERS or OR ADDICTED To ANY CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PERSONS wno HAVE BEEN (WW5) AS MENTAL DEFECTWES OR HAVE BEEN COMMHTED TO A MENTAL INSTITUTION 922mm PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN merxa FROM THE US. ARMED FORCES UNDER DISHONORABLE CONDITIONS 922mm PERSONS CONVICTEDIN ANY COURTOF A MISDEMEANOR CRIME 0F DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2. Federal prohibitors for which 1300 does not worse records and thus does not report to mm 9228:?) PERSONS WHO ARE. ALIEN AND ARE ILLBGA LLY 0R UNLAWFULLY IN THE UNITED STATES 922(c)(7) PERSONS WHO, HAVING BEEN CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES. HAVE RENOUNCED THEIR U.s. CITIZENSHIP PERSONS SUBJECT TO A COURT ORDER THAT RESTRAINS THEM FROM HARASSING, STALKING, OR THREATENHQG AN INTIMATE PARTNER OR CHILD OF SUCH INTIMATE PARTNER, 0R FROM ENGAGING IN OTHER CONDUCT THAT WOULD PLACE THE PARTNER 0R CHILD 1N REASONABLE FEAR OF BODILY TNIURY 3. Federal pmhibitor for which DOD has no exact equivalent, thus does not report to NICS, is listed as follows: mm 922(n)( 10) PERSONS WHO ARE UNDER INDICTMENT OR INFORMATION FOR A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT FOR A TERM EXCEEDING ONE YEAR rational: The UCMJ includes neither ?Indictment,? nor ?Information.? The Department ?nds no legal obstacles to providing records to NICS. We have however, experienced obstacles to determining which nonjudicial boards within DOD adjudicate mental defectives that would qualify for reporting under 922(g)(4). We are working to clarify this situation. The Department has made two reporting changes to increase the number of relevant records being reported to NICS. The changes support reporting under sections 922(3) (2) and (3). 922(3) (2): Deserter Arrest Warrants Under Exceptional Circumstances - classi?cation of a Military Service member as deserter is based on intent and not the time the member has been absent from his or her unit. Military Service members who: are determined to be high risk due to the existence of aggravating circumstances; ?ed to avoid prosecution; are believed likely to commit violem acts, or may harm themselves or the general public, are declared descrters and the local installation law enforcement agency enters an arrest mum: in for those individuals. 922(g) Failed command drug tests - relevant Service member data is entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation?s database as an ?abuser ofdrugs? when a positive urinalysis test for a controlled substance is received. The local installation law enforcement agency enters the appropriate information into As described in this report, is providing all relevant infoma?on it creates to NICS. The one area of reporling of non-judicial adjudications of ?menlal defectives,? under is under review. The review and subsequent regulation writing process, to effect the: reporting, will require a minimum often months to accomplish.