Army Survivor Outreach Services
The Army National Guard provides ongoing support to Soldiers and families through programs like the Military Funeral Honors, Casualty Assistance, and Survivor Outreach Services which are part of a cooperative effort with Parent Services, Veteran Service Organizations, Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Center, Casualty Assistance Centers and communities across the nation.
Military Funeral Honors teams render professional military funeral honors, in accordance with service tradition, to all eligible veterans when requested by an authorized family member. MFH teams conduct 80 percent of all military funeral honors for the Army and approximately 55 percent of all military funeral honors for the DoD each year.
The casualty assistance program assists the Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Centers and Casualty Assistance Centers with the mission of assigning casualty notification and casualty assistance officers to assist families during their time of need.
Casualty assistance provides full support to casualty operations, providing notification officers within four hours of initial casualty reports and assistance officers for as long as needed. In addition, the National Guard provides training to certify casualty notification and assistance officers to provide support of the highest standard to surviving family members who sacrificed so much.
To ensure survivors get the continued support they need, the ARNG will soon hire an additional 51 Survivor Outreach Services coordinators to be placed throughout the states and territories. These coordinators provide long-term support throughout the grief process, facilitate support groups, provide information and referral services, coordinate child care as needed, and provide other services as required. Survivor Outreach Services teams will be available to reassure survivors that they are continually linked to the Army family for as long as they desire.
