Final answer:
The question relates to the number of eyewitness statements required for combat and lifesaving awards and touches on the complexity of eyewitness testimony reliability. Without specific regulations or guidelines, a universally correct answer cannot be provided, but the importance of understanding the weaknesses in eyewitness testimony is relevant for legal purposes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns the specific requirements for a recommendation package for combat and lifesaving awards in a legal or military context. It asks how many notarized eyewitness statements, along with contact information for the eyewitnesses, must be included. The provided references highlight the significance and issues surrounding the reliability of eyewitness testimony in legal proceedings.
However, the question's subject implies a need for concrete policy requirements that are not addressed in the references. In legal practices, such requirements can vary by jurisdiction, branch of the military, or even by the specific award in question. Because of this variation and without a specific reference to a manual or regulation providing these details, a universally correct answer cannot be given. Typically, a legal representative or military official might consult the relevant regulations or guideline documents to determine these specific requirements.
If representing a defendant in a case with eyewitness testimony, as an attorney, one might stress to jurors that numerous studies, including those by Wells & Quinlivan (2009) and The Innocence Project (2009), have identified factors that can undermine the reliability of such testimony. One could point out the potential for misidentification and the psychological factors that can affect memory and perception.