Further, military Service members serve in a strict hierarchical culture where they 1) are trained to respect rank; 2) implicitly agree to subordinate their autonomy for the sake of accomplishing the mission; and 3) agree to risk personal injury or loss of life, if need be, in compliance with lawful orders of their superiors. For all these reasons the DoD Directive 3216.02 requires special protections for military personnel and, in some circumstances, for DoD employees.

Ombudsman

One such protection is that the Chain of Command may not influence Service member participation. Therefore, supervisors and unit leaders shall not be present for recruitment, enrollment or the consent process. Specifically, for research involving more than minimal risk, an Ombudsman must be identified by name or position. The Ombudsman is an individual who is not affiliated with the military unit or the research team and who monitors the voluntary nature of participation. This individual participates in the consent process and ensures information provided to participants is adequate, accurate, and appropriate.

Social Behavioral Research and Duty to Report

For military Service members and, to a limited extent, DoD employees, participation in social behavioral research involving disclosure of personal or sensitive information may jeopardize their 1) career, 2) rank, 3) security clearance or 4) special status (flight, diving or deployability). Military members are subject to an additional body of law called the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), therefore, there are actions/ activities that would not be unlawful for members of the general public, but are unlawful under the UCMJ. Some examples of behaviors addressed in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) are financial management, substance use/ abuse, sexual conduct and violence. As conditioned by the UCMJ, federal and state laws and regulations require the duty to report such behaviors to appropriate authorities.

Some consequences for violations of UCMJ are Non-judicial punishment or Court Martial and may include: monetary fines, incarceration, reduction in grade, dishonorable discharge (only if convicted at court martial) or non-promotable. In other words self report of behaviors and activities that pose no risk to general members of the public may be damaging to Service members and DoD civilians financial standing, employability or reputation.

Compensation and Incentives

All federal employees are prohibited from accepting dual compensation for activities performed during duty hours. Because members of the military are “on-duty” 24/7, this creates special issues. Conversely, ethical considerations make it inappropriate to exclude Service members from payment offered to other subjects. Therefore, the DoD approach is that military Service members who are “off duty” may be compensated in the same manner as non-military subjects; however, if participation may affect the ability to perform military duties, Service members should get Command permission. An exception to compensation issues is 24 USC 30 which permits compensation of $50 per blood draw.

For more information for researchers and IRBs regarding the regulations and requirements for human subjects research when OUSD(P&R) institutions are engaged in the research, Click here.