I am not sure why your chain of command would tell you that your case would remain open for 5 years. I know of no reason that this would occur and do not believe it is possible if the case was closed favorably. Perhaps they were simply referring to the titling process. Here is an explanation of the titling process.
C.I.D. will not leave the investigation open for five years. If this was the case, the Soldier would have to be flagged and would not be able to reenlist.
What they may be talking about is C.I.D. probably “Titled” the Soldier during their investigation. This means that they named the Soldier as a suspect on a Report of Investigation (ROI).
If the Soldier was titled, it will follow this Soldier for the rest of his life. From what I understand, you do not get removed from this database once in it. So, anytime he applies for a government job, police, security, basically any job where they do a background check, this issue will come up.
I found the following recent article which explains the basics of the titling process.
Legal advice: The CID titling process
October 9, 2013
A question I am commonly asked is “I have been titled by CID, what should I do?” There is a lot of misunderstanding about what titling is and what its consequences are. The purpose of this article is to clear up some of these misunderstandings.
What is titling? Put simply, titling is the decision to place the name of a person in the “subject” block of a CID report of investigation.
Titling is not a legal or judicial decision, it is an operation procedure used by CID. Unlike a criminal conviction, which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, to title someone there must only be existence of credible information that a person committed a criminal offense. Legally, this is a very low standard. To meet this standard, CID coordinates with Office of the Staff Judge Advocate to determine if credible information exists. If such evidence exists, then the individual is titled.
What happens once I have been titled? The primary purpose of titling is to ensure that information contained in the CID report can be retrieved for law enforcement and security purposes.
Once someone is titled, the ROI is indexed in the Defense Clearance and Investigations Index.
If the person being titled is in the Army, they will also be indexed in the Army Crimes Records Center. Being indexed in the DCII and the CRC is what people ultimately complain about when they have been titled, because titling follows you around indefinitely.
How do I get un-titled? It is nearly impossible to get “untitled,” i.e. getting your name removed from the ROI. To have a name removed, a person must conclusively establish that the wrong person’s name has been entered as a result of mistaken identity.
The good news is that it is comparatively much easier to amend the ROI from founded to unfounded.
The first step is getting the ROI. Hopefully, the Soldier can get this from his/her commander. If not, then the Soldier must submit a request under the Privacy Act of 1974 to the director of CRC.
Next, the Soldier comes to the legal assistance office for help in drafting a memorandum, with supporting documentation, on why the amendment to the ROI should be granted.
The CRC will then forward these documents to the CID Staff Judge Advocate and the CID Investigative Operations Section. If everybody agrees then the ROI will be amended. If this approach fails, the Soldier can apply for redress with the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. Your Legal Assistance Office can also help you with this process as well.
Contact the Legal Assistance Office, Wiesbaden Legal Center, located on Clay Kaserne, Building 1023W, mil 337-4725 or civ 0611-705-4725. (http://www.herald-union.com/legal-advice-the-cid-titling-process/)
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Comments
Former MPI
I was MPI attached to the CID office working dope. Titling is required according to DOD Instructions (formal policy) when there is “credible evidence to lead a trained investigator to believe a crime occurred.” This does not require SJA approval. This is an operational decision made by either the Provost Marshal (for any case which they are the investigating authority) or the CID Office. The decision to title a soldier is ultimately the responsibility of the CID Special Agent in Charge, typically a CW3/4. The PM/investigator will coordinate with SJA for an opine.
What probably happened to you is you were under investigation and the case was unfounded. All unfounded cases will still show up for a Military Police Records Check that you were listed as a subject of an unfounded investigation. It will clearly state it was unfounded but could still have adverse effects on things such as your spouse wanting to have an at home day care. However it is specifically marked UNFOUNDED
Former MPI
They will show up for 5 years before they are purged from COPS* and it is the SAC/PM/INvestigator (PM/SAC depending on if it is an MP case or CID Case)