Delaware Green Alert for Missing Veterans and Service Members

Title 11, sections 8580A to 8583A, enacted by 81 Delaware Laws chapter 391, require every law-enforcement agency in Delaware to implement a Green Alert Program for missing members of the armed forces. Who it covers. A "missing member of the armed forces" is someone whose location is unknown, who was domiciled in Delaware when reported missing, who is a veteran or an active duty member including the Guard or reserves, who "is known to have a physical or mental health condition that is related to the individual's service", and whose disappearance "poses a credible threat to the health or safety of the individual", as the investigating agency decides. Veteran is defined as anyone "who has served in the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard or the reserves". There is no discharge test and no rating requirement; the condition need only be related to service. What happens. Once the investigating agency verifies the person is a missing member, it asks the family about the person's condition, enters them in the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System and the National Crime Information Center, notifies the Delaware Information Analysis Center, sends an alert to designated media outlets, and has the Department of Transportation put information on its highway message signs. What a family should do. Tell the police when reporting someone missing that the person is a veteran or service member with a service-related condition, and say what it is. The alert turns on the agency knowing that. The Veterans Crisis Line, dial 988 then press 1, is the right call when the worry is suicide.