Funeral Directors - FYI:  Standard Operating Procedures for Military Honors

August 22, 2011 - TFDA just received the following alert.

We received this information from the Edward McCray, Memorial Affairs Coordinator at Fort Hood.  Although it mentions the Fort Hood area specifically, it is likely that the threat would be nation-wide.  Please be aware of this threat.

We just received this info from Department of the Army. Please disseminate to all funeral homes in the Fort Hood Area of Responsibility.

ADVISORY ON POSSIBLE EXTREMIST ACTIONS AGAINST MILITARY FUNERAL-RELATED PERSONNEL AND EVENTS

BACKGROUND: This is for your situational awareness and action as appropriate. We just received information from the intelligence community
that extremist organizations may target military funeral honors personal and military funeral events.

Click on this link for the fill-in Military Honors Request Form.  It is suggested that for ease of accessibility that you download this form to your desktop.
Note: we moved it to the top of this article to assist you in finding it more easily. 

SUBJECT:  Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Requesting Funeral Honors

1.  The goal of the Fort Hood Casualty Assistance Center is to provide Funeral Honors for all Veterans, Retirees, and Active Duty personnel in our area of responsibility when requested by the family.  The purpose of this SOP is to establish and improve our relationship with the Texas Funeral Commission and the funeral homes in our area of responsibility. 

2.  This SOP will assist Funeral Directors in processing military requests for Funeral Honors for fallen Army Veterans and Retirees.  The procedures listed must be followed to ensure that we are providing the correct service for the fallen service member and the next of kin.

 3. The Fort Hood Casualty Assistance Center has 126 personnel available to perform Funeral Honors.  Our area of responsibility is divided into four categories.

      1.  Local:  The funerals conducted within 80 miles of Killeen/Fort Hood.  This area stretches from Hamilton County (north) to Travis County (south).

        2.   One Day:  The funerals conducted more than 80 miles away from Killeen/Fort Hood.  This area stretches from Montague County (north) to Bastrop County (south) and from Nolan County(west) to Cherokee County (east).

      3.  Two Day:  The funerals conducted more than 200 miles from Killeen/Fort Hood.  This area stretches from Midland County (west) to Shelby County (east).

      4.  Three Day:  The funerals conducted more than 250 miles from Killeen/Fort Hood.  This area stretches from Crane County (south) to Dallam County (north). 

4. Responsibilities of the Funeral Director:

a. When the Funeral Director receives a request for military honors from the next of kin, it is their responsibility to ensure they obtain the proper discharge information from the family or Veterans Administration (VA).  The discharge information can be a DD Form 214, Certificate of Honorable Discharge or any other verification from the VA as long as it contains the name, rank, character of service, and years of service.

b. The Funeral Director must fill out the Military Funeral Honors Request Form located on the Texas Funeral Service Commission website.   Once the Funeral Director has all of the necessary information, they must call this office at (254) 287-7200 to request military funeral honors, and fax Request Form and discharge information to (254) -288-5620.

5. To ensure that our Honor Teams arrive safely and in a timely manner, we request the following information:

0. If the requesting funeral home is within the local or one day area (a or b above), we request the director notify this office at least 24 hours in advance after ensuring discharge information is correct.

0. If the requesting funeral home is within the two day area (c above), we request the director notify this office at least 48 hours in advance after ensuring discharge information is correct.

0. If the requesting funeral home is within the three day area (d above), we request the director notify this office  at least 72 hours in advance after ensuring discharge information is correct.

6. In an effort to ensure that we continue providing quality service to our Fallen Heroes and their families, we request this information be disseminated to all funeral directors in our area of responsibility.

7. Enclosed is a list of the Fort Hood Casualty Assistance Center area of responsibility which consists of 175 counties. 

8. Point of contact for this SOP is Edward B. McCray, Jr., Memorial Affairs Coordinator at COMMERCIAL: (254) 287-7200, or Fax: (254) 288-5620.                                   

Fort Hood Casualty Assistance Center

Area of Responsibility

175 Counties

 Request form for Military Honors.