SEPTEMBER 2004

LEARNING MORE ABOUT OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
JOINT BIOGRAPHY

FRANK P SAUL, PhD, DABFA and JULIE MATHER SAUL, BA

Frank and Julie Saul are professional partners as well as husband and wife (since 1964).

The Sauls are biologic anthropologists, who specialize in the reconstruction of life history from the skeleton (“osteobiography”). Frank first began working with the human skeleton in 1949 at the American Museum of Natural History, and analyzed his first police related case in 1954.

From 1953 to 1958, as Chief of the Anthropometric Unit of the AeroMedical Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, he conducted human factors research on Air Force flight crews.

Since 1962 (Frank) and 1964 (Julie), they have been interpreting ancient Maya skeletons for archaeologists, while continuing to identify otherwise unidentifiable modern human remains, both skeletal and fleshed, for coroners and medical examiners. Julie is also a specialist in the recognition, reconstruction, and interpretation of skeletal trauma and weapon signatures.

Frank is a Diplomate and Past President, American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and Senior Consultant in Forensic Anthropology to the Lucas County Coroner’s Office in Toledo, Ohio. He is also Professor Emeritus, Anatomy (including Radiologic Anatomy) and Associate Dean Emeritus of the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, where he served from 1969-1993.

Julie is Director of the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory, Lucas County Coroner’s Office in Toledo, Ohio.

They became DMORT Forensic Anthropologists in 1995, after their applications were lost and resubmitted several times. Their first mission was the Comair 7232 crash near Monroe, Michigan, in February 1997. In October 1997, Frank was surprised to be appointed the Commander of Region V, after “butting heads” with several authority figures during the August 1997 KAL Flight 801 crash mission on Guam. They subsequently served together at the Amtrak train-truck crash in Bourbonnais, Illinois (March 1999), where Frank was the Mission Commander; then, the Egypt Air crash mission in Providence, Rhode Island (January 2000); and most recently, the World Trade Center terrorist attack, where Frank was the DMORT Night Watch Commander at the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office during the first month after 9/11, and Julie worked with the NYPD Crime Scene Unit at the Freshkill Landfill and Ground Zero.

They are both consultants to a number of organizations and agencies, including the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office (Detroit, Michigan), the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Washington, DC), the FBI Evidence Response Team (Cleveland, Ohio), and the Violent Crimes Task Force (Detroit, Michigan).

The Sauls consult for the Maya archaeological projects of the University of Texas, Boston University, and Cleveland State University, carrying out field research on the origin and evolution of disease in the jungles of Belize and elsewhere in Central America.

They have been very active in teaching in recent years, and have conducted forensic anthropology seminars and mini-courses for a variety of agencies and organizations, including the Cleveland FBI Evidence Response Team, Ohio Identification Officers, International Association for Identification, Northwest Ohio Criminal Justice Training Center, Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, Wayne County (Detroit) Medical Examiner’s Office Death Investigation Course, El Paso, Texas, Medical Examiner’s Office, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and several state coroners and medical examiners associations.

In addition, since 1995, they have become increasingly involved at the national level in helping to train and test human remains/death investigation dogs and their handlers for police and disaster work.

They are both Fellows of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and their forensic work has brought them commendations from several law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Public Health Service, National Disaster Medical System, and the Republica de Panama Comite de Familiares de Desaparecidos de Panama.

Frank and Julie have two children who have accompanied them during their professional travels, starting at just under three years of age (Joseph Mather Saul) and a mere six months (Jennifer Mather Saul). Joe is currently the University of Michigan Medical Center’s authority on privacy law, and Jenny is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, England.

 

TEAM READINESS

Field Operations Guide (FOG)
*The following article was adapted from the Region VII website.

The Field Operations Guide (FOG) was developed to assist DMORT personnel during trainings and mission assignments. FOG is a compilation and summary of important general information, developed procedures, and reference material. In addition, position descriptions and operational checklists are outlined for each of the positions that comprise a standard DMORT response.

Understanding, exercising, and adhering to the FOG will ensure optimum personal performance, standardization of activities and procedures between DMORTs, and promote safe and effective DMORT operations. It is expected that all DMORT personnel will use the FOG as a fundamental tool for both training exercises and mission operations. FOG should be kept, readily available for immediate access with each team member’s personal response equipment.

A copy of FOG can be obtained by downloading from the DMORT website www.dmort.org.

HURRICANE CHARLEY

In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, FEMA requested DMORT’s assistance in Forest Park, GA and Port Charlotte, FL to aid in logistic issues. Many of the DMORT personnel, who were present, worked outside of their area of “expertise,” and they were ready to help in any way that they could be of assistance.

The Georgia contingent consisted of DMORT members from Regions IV, V, VII, and IX, who worked out of the FEMA Logistics Center-East, which is located on Ft. Gillem. Twelve hour shifts ran 24/7, with the majority of people working outside, to inspect and tag travel trailers and mobile homes. This was the staging area for the temporary housing that would be provided to the victims of Hurricane Charley. An unused airstrip provided parking spaces for the trailers, while waiting to be transported. Temperatures off the tarmac reached 137 degrees on some days.

The Florida contingent consisted of DMORT members from Regions III, IV, and V, who were stationed along the West Coast of Florida. Their responsibilities included assisting FEMA and the local authorities with the set-up of the DFO (Disaster Field Office) in Port Charlotte, inventorying available temporary housing, and preparing them for occupation by displaced local residents.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

As you know, we quite often speak about the DMORT family. Well, everyone, the family just got bigger! Dr. Howard Cooper, one of the many Chicago area Odontologists, had a son last month. Little Ian weighed in at 6 lbs., 12 oz. and was 20 inches long. We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes his 4 older sisters to paint his nails! J

Also, if this wasn’t news enough, Howard was inducted as President of the Illinois Academy of General Dentistry on September 8 in Moline, Illinois. Where he finds the time, we may never know!

Congratulations Howard to you and your growing family.

2005 NDMS CONFERENCE

There will be a spring 2005 NDMS Conference, probably in the Orlando area. More information will follow as it becomes available.

Next Month in “Voice of V”

Learning More About Our Leadership Team
Team Readiness
DMART Specials
And more!

If you have anything that you would like included in the next issue of “Voice of V,” please forward it to r5news@dmort.org.