Department of Defense
DIRECTIVE
NUMBER 5205.15E NUMBER 5205.15E
April 26, 2011 April 26, 2011
USD(AT&L) USD(AT&L)
SUBJECT: DoD Forensic Enterprise (DFE) SUBJECT: DoD Forensic Enterprise (DFE)
References: See Enclosure 1 References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE1. PURPOSE
. Pursuant to the authority vested in the Secretary of Defense by section 113 of
title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.) (Reference (a)), this Directive:
a. Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities within the DoD to develop and maintain an
enduring, holistic, global forensic capability to support the full range of military operations
(ROMO). The DFE consists of those DoD resources, assets, and processes that provide forensic
science analysis linking persons, places, things, and events. These linkages are made in both
traditional law-enforcement and medical purviews, as well as in the expeditionary environment.
The DFE supports numerous customers, including military criminal investigators, medical
examiners, joint force commanders (JFCs), and criminal-intelligence and intelligence analysts.
Not included in the DFE are those distinct, non-traditional missions requiring unique forensic
disciplines that support technical nuclear, technical chemical, and biological disciplines, and
specialized intelligence.
b. Establishes, under the provisions of DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5105.18 (Reference (b)), the
Forensic Executive Committee (EXCOM) to coordinate the activities of the DFE (see Enclosure
2).
c. Assigns the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
(USD(AT&L)) the Principal Staff Assistant (PSA) responsibilities pursuant to DoD Directive
(DoDD) 5101.1 (Reference (c)) for the DFE.
d. Designates the Secretary of the Army as the DoD Executive Agent (EA) for Forensics, in
accordance with Reference (c) and DoDD 5154.24 (Reference (d)), for those forensic disciplines
relating to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), serology, firearms and tool marks, latent prints,
questioned documents, drug chemistry, and trace materials, as well as forensics relating to
forensic medicine disciplines such as forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic
toxicology, and DNA analysis to identify human remains.
e. Designates the Secretary of the Air Force as the DoD EA for Digital and Multimedia
(D/MM) Forensics in accordance with Reference (c) and DoDD 5505.13E (Reference (e)), for
