Sabow

Appellants appeal the district court’s decision to dismiss their Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. FACTS

This appeal arises out of the unfortunate death of decorated Marine Corps Colonel James E. Sabow and the subsequent investigation of that death by military authorities. *1449 Because the case comes to us after its dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim, we are required to assume that the facts alleged in the Complaint are true and it is from that source that we draw the following tangled web.

In early 1991, the Office of the Inspector General of the Marine Corps (“IGMC”) was in the midst of an investigation into alleged misuse of military aircraft by high-ranking Marine Corps officers at the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, California (“MCAS-E1 Toro”). First brought to the attention of Department of Defense authorities by an anonymous tip, the investigation centered around the personal use of military aircraft. Colonel Joseph Underwood, Chief of Staff for…