In 1950, the Supreme Court decided in Feres VS The United Statesthat military members could not sue the U.S. Government for injuries resulting from the negligence of others in the armed forces.

While there are administrative claim procedures, basically a Servicemember "wronged" by the military have to abide by whatever the Department of Defense (DOD) will offer them. Under the "FERES Doctrine," if the member (or his/her heirs) do not agree with the claim offer, they cannot sue. This doctrine has held firm for over 50 years.

Recently, however, a federal appears court put a chink in the concept of the FERES Doctrine by ruling that military members COULD sue when the military violates the Privacy Act, and releases information about them that otherwise would have been protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act. While the court listed this as an exception to the FERES Doctrine, there is speculation that this may be the first in a long series of court cases to "test" other possible exceptions.