NYC-WTC_000174805

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

AFIP Letter / Vol. 159, No. 5 / October 2001 9

able match resulted, the files were pulled for the final visual, Operation Noble Ea^le: comparison, and a final report was generated documenting the similar dental Mortality Surveillance Division findings (fig 5). CAPT Arendt provides critical data collection feels that the and case-tracking support I AmvMTtivi! iMm«ssn —— decision to go “all digital” on x-ray isa Pearse, MAJ, MC, USA, chief of OAFME’s capture, as well as to Mortality Surveillance Division, created and utilized an implement a net­ electronic database that provided critical victim identifi worked graphical cation information to investigators during Operation Noble image and data- Eagle. “Because of the _____________________________ i; •rA.twW.. , - I sorting program nature the (WINID II), was September data well worth the effort, collection and case “Without hesitation, tracking were essential t I strongly believe elements of the Dover

ss a ll » that the high number of positive identifi­ cations produced in a mission,” she said. Her contributions marked the first time that OAFME ' HC3 timely manner resulted because of utilized an electronic tracking database to dedicated staff and supplement paper records, Lisa Pearse. MAJ. MC. USA computer enhance­ and allowed for real-time Fig 5—Example of final coniparisoii report ment,” he said (fig reporting throughout the mission. 6). Arendt added Dr. Pearse is a preventive medicine physician, recently that “no matter what assigned to OAFME to conduct mortality surveillance. This approach is used, if antemortem reference material (clinical includes monitoring all active-duty deaths for trends, especially information) is not available or isn’t that of the victims being those that could represent emerging infections or a subtle processed at that time, no system can resolve that issue.” biological warfare attack. In Dover, Pearse quickly designed a A few thoughts for the future: database to describe and follow all victims through the identifi­ • Implement a dedicated URL or email address and dissemi­ cation process. “The database tracked demographic information nate that information broadly to law enforcement, so that on the missing, and helped us focus on the presence or absence health care professionals (military and civilian) can send of medical and dental records orDNA profiles on each of the digital information to us directly. 188 individuals,” she said. “Finally, as identifications were • Software issues: Whatever software is utilized in the future made, we utilized the database to keep track of who had been (WINID or CHCS), assure it has good “viewability” on the identified and by what method (dental, fingerprint, or DNA).” monitor and multiple graphical links. The digital x-ray capture Pearse continues to track identification data and produces should “drop” directly into the program, rather than requiring a daily status reports as the investigation winds down. She’s also variety of steps to get to that point. analyzing data to evaluate the casualty identification modalities, • Network issues: Network the digital x-ray capture to the injury patterns, and structural issues in the Pentagon that might dissection bays and to the comparison section. have influenced survival patterns. - Christopher C. Kelly

Penny Rodriguez, executive assistant to the Director, worked at Dover for over two weeks to help coordinate and communicate forensic P'ig 6—Some Team members 13 Sept - 27 Sept 2001 findings to DoD officials from ,A TIP 436”’ DA FB and Kee.der ,4 FB).■ and family members.

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