As for the blood test/DNA testing done by the military, I have a cousin who is in the special forces and know his DNA was placed on file with the branch of service he is in. I assumed the same was true for all service men. As it is a foolproof means of identifying casualties it just makes sense. And considering that the US military has been known to spend $400 for a simple hammer
the cost of DNA testing shouldn't be much of a problem. But then you know what they say about "ass-u-me"-ing things. My apologies.
Cat
Please don't apologise, the US seems to provide for all eventualities for it's men and women.
There was talk of allowing, as one polite poster put it, the facility for storing 'donations' here but as I said, women are not allowed to be inseminated with sperm from their dead husband, even with a pre written letter of consent and so the idea was dismissed, (terribly unbritish
). Whilst many servicemen and women have the foresight to draw up a will, this is not something the services mention to them as being a necessary evil.
The British cannot even equip our men and women properly, they are given a list of items they will be provided with, must have/may need, that is not to say they get them all, in time. We had to hunt around, at the last minute for desert boots because the army suddenly found the boots they had provided and which had been broken in, disintegrated in the heat, the wrong camouflage colours were provided on some clothing for our daughter, the list goes on and on.
It would be a good idea for the UK to follow the US military's lead and set up a DNA database, but then there would probably be dozens of human rights cases demanding the sample is destroyed after they leave the military, I think there is a case going through the courts right now, over the governments right to hold the DNA of someone arrested but not charged!
[Jo of Palatine;742867]And even if they had one, I doubt they would add "Royal" DNA to it but put that information under special secrecy[/quote]I had a vision of Harry and Williams DNA data, with a detachment of soldiers guarding the room it is kept in!