Uniform Assistance Policy for Survivor Families

January 31, 2006

By John Buhl

The Department of Defense (DoD) has been called upon to develop a uniform, service-wide casualty assistance policy for families of servicemembers who die during service. The 2006 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) said the DoD secretary should begin work on the new policy this month.

DoD will consult the secretaries from each military service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure the new policy incorporates best practices from each service.

The 2006 NDAA requires that the new policy establish casualty assistance procedures for each military department. However, military departments will be able to keep unique traditional practices and customs.

The new policy is expected to cover several casualty assistance topics, including:

• initial death notification for next of kin;
• transportation and disposition of remains;
• qualifications, assignment, training, duties, supervision and accountability for those performing casualty assistance responsibilities; and
• administration of short-term and long-term case-management procedures (including issues such as access to case managers and counselors).

Another provision calls for DoD to ensure access to no-cost legal assistance. This is to guarantee that surviving families have necessary expert advice on how to handle issues that arise from family member deaths, such as tax matters.

DoD must also maintain a Web site that provides free access to benefit information for survivors, including financial information.

To monitor the quality of casualty assistance and resulting incidents or issues, the policy requires the department collect data on the service received by surviving families. This will include surveys and records of military and civilian personnel assigned to cases. Secretaries of each service are directed to prescribe new or modified regulations so that each service conforms to the new department-wide policies and procedures.

The DoD secretary is expected to provide a report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees no later than May 1, 2006. The report will outline DoD’s policy, and also must evaluate the casualty assistance program of each service and offer recommendations.

The NDAA also requires oversight by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO will have until Aug. 1, 2006, to submit a report to the House and Senate defense committees assessing the procedures adopted by DoD and each military service.