STATUS REPORT ON THE JOINT ARMY/DIA GRILL FLAME PROGRAM (U) INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

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Summary:
This memorandum from July 2, 1981 provides an update on the Joint Army/DIA Grill Flame Program. The program had been submitted for review and approval, and it was previously stated that if the Army's participation was approved, the DIA's participation would then be reviewed by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Defense. However, it was recently discovered that the DIA did not believe they needed approval from the DOD Secretariat for their part in the program. This raised concerns, as it was believed that the joint program constituted human experimentation. A meeting was held to discuss this issue, and it was decided that a memorandum justifying the position that the program constitutes human experimentation would be prepared. Additionally, an attorney will be meeting with a representative from The Surgeon General's Office to gather more information and seek advice regarding the Army's involvement in human experimentation. It is expected that a response to the issue will be provided by the end of the following week.

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Body:  Approved For Release
 1 0044006.5-2
 (T  ed for easier reading of
 91A-RDP96-00788R001
 the origina
 SAGC/Mr. Hatch/smp/ 1/2 Jul 81
 SG1I
 July 2, 1981
 MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
 SUBJECT: Status Report on the Joint Army/DIA Grill Flame Program (U)
 INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
 (U)  The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of what has
 happened to this program since you approved the Army's participation in the
 joint activity on May 27.
 (S)  At the time this program was submitted to you for your review and
 approval, our cover memorandum informed you that our office and the DOD
 General Counsel's Office were in agreement as to the applicability of
 Procedure 18, "Experimentation on Human Subjects, "DOD 5240-1-R (Tab A).  We
 also represented to you that, if you approved Army's participation in the
 program, DIA's participation would then be submitted to the Secretary or
 Deputy Secretary of Defense for review and approval.
 (S)  About two weeks ago an attorney from this office made an inquiry
 of DIA as to the status of their attempt to obtain DOD Secretariat approval.
 He was informed that, an the basis of guidance from the DOD General
 Counsel's office, DIA did not believe that DOD Secretariat approval was
 required for their part bilntion  in the joint program.  We also learned that
 the Army had transferred the money that it had agreed to contribute to the
 program to DIA.  At that time we immediately raised the issue to the DOD
 General Counsel and also informed all participants that no additional Army
 funds should be committed to the program until the Procedure 18 question was
 resolved.                                           (DoD,GC)
 (S)  This past Monday I learned that Mr. Taft  decided not to submit the
 program to Mr. Weinberger for his review and approval, but rather to inform
 him of the program through an information memorandum.  Both because I
 believe that the joint program constitutes human experimentation and since
 we represented to you that Mr. Weinberger would review and approve DIA's
 participation in the program, I met with Mr. Taft to discuss our posture.
 Mr. Taft requested that I prepare a memorandum justifying our position that
 the joint program constitutes human experimentation.   As explained below,
 Taft's
 it will at least be a week before I will be able to respond to Mr.
 request.  Until then, Mr. Taft has agreed to accept calls from interested
 parties, such as                         since he acknowledges that the Army
 has not been the source of the delay in implementing this program.
 /c
 (S)  The issue of whether or not the program is human experimentation
 is not so much a legal or  olic  question as it is a medical and research  T
 CLASSIFIED BY: ACSI.                ASG        Mr. Hatch
 REVIEW ON: 1 July 2001              OGC        Mr. Spurlock
 Approved For Releas
 CIA-RDP96-00788R001100440065-2
 Approved For Release 2003/P91-_ &-y CIA-RDP96-00788 R001100440065-2
 question.  Therefore to resolve this issue an attorney from this office will
 meet with BG Rapmund of The Surgeon General's Office and Chairperson of the
 Human Subjects Research Review-Board.  For as long as this office has been
 involved in Grill Flame, we have been in communication with BG Rapmund and
 his advice has formed the basis of our decisions regarding human experi-
 mentation.  Before rendering his opinion on the proposed joint program,
 however, BG Rapmund desires to review the proposed Grill Flame protocol and
 seek more information regarding several other questions that he has
 regarding the Army's Grill Flame involvement.  In addition, he is leaving on
 TDY today and will not be back until next Wednesday, so we will not be able
 to talk to him until then and thus will not be able to respond to Mr. Taft
 until the end of next week.  I bring this delay to your attention because I
 realize that you are interested in a rapid resolution of the problem.
 (U)  If you wish to further discuss this matter, I am available..
 (Signed)
 DELBERT L. SPURLOCK, JR.
 General Counsel
 Approved For Release 200 LQ9t 8 CIA--RDP96-00788R001100440065-2