DEPARTMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE

The U.S. Department of Defense is initiating a new program, Honoring Those Who Served, to improve the provision of military funeral honors to eligible veterans. Historically, the Department of Defense provided military funeral honors when resources were available to do so. We now plan to provide appropriate honors responsive to all requests for eligible veterans' funerals.

This Military Funeral Honors Kit is designed to help you assist families of eligible veterans in making funeral honors arrangements. W#e have established a toll-free number, l-877-MIL-HONR (1-877-645-4667), for your use in locating Military Service points-of-contact for funeral honors.

Also, because you and the family members you help often have questions about military honors and veterans' benefits, we have placed information on a new web site, www.militaryfuneralhonors.osd.mil.

1. Any Veterans Organization who desires to serve as an honor detail must first write a letter to the Secretary of The Pennsylvania War Veterans Council stating they are interested in serving as an honor guard at the National Cemetery. Once these letters are received they are date stamped and filed and as the need arises the organizations are called in the order in which their requests were received and filed.

2. At the inception of this program, The Pennsylvania War Veterans Council went on record to allow the Lebanon VFW honor guard to perform the detail. The Lebanon VFW will notify the Secretary of the PWVC when they desire relief. When this relief is called for the Secretary will then notify the next organization in line as stated in paragraph 1.

3. Honor details must perform the ceremony as described appropriate service in the Drill and Ceremonies manuals to include properly folding the flag and presenting it to the next of kin. All members of the detail must be uniformly attired.

4. All details are required to serve a minimum of one week and be at the National Cemetery from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

5. Individuals cannot apply to serve, only organized veteran units will be accepted.

6. Each organization must submit the dates and hours spent at the National Cemetery at the end of their respective work week to the Secretary of the PWVC who in turn will have then information verified with the Cemetery Director by the Department of Veterans Affairs who then will process a voucher for payment. Payment will be made on a monthly basis. All payments will be made to the order of the sponsoring organization, not to an individual.

7. Honor details should consist of at least 5 members. If at all possible, 2 color bearers and 3 riflemen. If no bugler is obtainable, the tape playing taps may be used over the cemetery's sound system.

This memorandum contains Department of Defense policy guidance on Military Funeral Honors for veterans. Section 578 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 requires the Department of Defense t6 provide Military Funeral Honors to all eligible veterans, upon request, beginning January 1, 2000. This section also provides certain authorities to the Secretaries of the Military Departments to support this mission. The new statutory and Departmental requirements are outlined in this policy memorandum.

Commanders at all levels recognize the importance of paying final tribute on behalf of a grateful Nation to honor our Nation's veterans. This memorandum institutes Department-wide the policies to implement the requirements of Section 578 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 as commanders respond rapidly and sensitively to requests for military funeral support. Honoring requests for Military Funeral Honors reflects the personal pride and esteem placed on Military Service and displays military professionalism to the Nation and the world.

The provision of Military Funeral Honors is designated a total force mission. Both active and reserve forces may perform this mission.

General Policies:

The Military Services shall assign responsibility for the coordination and delivery of Military Funeral Honors to a single office at the Headquarters level. This office will be known as the Service Honors Coordinator. The Service Honors Coordinator may further assign responsibility for the delivery of Military Funeral Honors to designated offices on a regional basis. The offices with regional responsibilities will be known as the Regional Honors Coordinator.

Upon the request of the next of kin, authorized representative, or funeral director on behalf of the next of kin, the headquarters or Regional Honors Coordinator will coordinate the provision of funeral honors to an eligible beneficiary. The requestor should normally not have to make more than one call for this purpose. The parent Service of the deceased veteran shall assume full responsibility for coordination of funeral honors support until completion of the ceremony. Requests made to the Service/Regional Honors Coordinator shall be coordinated with the funeral director, other Military Services and other authorized providers, as appropriate.

The funeral honors ceremony shall, at a minimum, consist of the folding and presentation of the American flag and the playing of Taps. At least two uniformed military persons, in addition to a bugler, if available, shall perform the ceremony. One of the uniformed military persons shall be a uniformed military representative of the parent Service of the deceased veteran and shall present the flag to the family or other appropriate individual.

The Military Services may provide additional elements of honors and may use additional uniformed military persons or other authorized providers who volunteer to augment the Funeral Honors Detail for this purpose. In order to be considered an authorized provider for purposes of this paragraph, the group seeking to participate in funeral honors ceremonies, which are conducted on behalf of the Secretary of Defense, must be trained and shall be approved for this purpose by the Secretary of the Military Department or designee's. These volunteers are considered Government employees for the purposes of tort claims and workers compensation.

For the playing of Taps, a bugler is preferred, either military or civilian. Bugler support may be contracted or voluntary. If none is available, the detail may play a quality recording of Taps. The commander responsible for the deployment of funeral honors teams must ensure the quality of the recording of Taps and provide the funeral honors detail the audio equipment if adequate audio equipment is not otherwise available for use at the funeral.

The Military Departments will establish procedures and protocols for the conduct of the funeral honors ceremony. They shall also ensure personnel selected for funeral details are appropriately trained and equipped to accomplish the funeral honors ceremony in a dignified and respectful manner, and shall institute a system of quality control for this purpose.

· The Secretaries of the Military Departments may provide support for other authorized providers who volunteer to participate in a funeral honors detail conducted on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and who are not members of the Armed Forces or employees of the United States. This support includes transportation or reimbursement for transportation, expenses, material, equipment and training for veterans organizations and other authorized providers who perform Military Funeral Honors. Policy to implement this provision of law will be published at a later date.

Policies Regarding the Use Reserve Forces:

Members of the Ready Reserve may volunteer to perform funeral honors or the preparation for such honors as a Federal function. Such duty shall be with the consent of the member and may be in a paid or unpaid status. Pay, allowances, compensation, travel and transportation expense reimbursements, when authorized, shall be paid from funds appropriated to the Department of Defense and paid in accordance with the applicable chapters of title 37 U.S.C.

Pay, allowances, compensation and service credit for Ready Reserve members depend on the duty category in which the member is performing funeral honors and the preparation for such honors. Funeral honors and the preparation for funeral honors may be performed by members of the Ready Reserve in one of the following duty categories as described in DoD Instruction 1215.19 "Uniform Reserve, Training and Retirement Category Administration," March 14, 1997: Active duty other than for training; full-time National Guard duty other than training duty; or Funeral Honors Duty as specified in section 12503 of title 10, U.S.C. or, in the case of members of the Army National Guard of the United States and the Air National Guard of the United States, in section 115 of title 32, U.S.C.

The duty category in which funeral honors and the preparation for funeral honors are performed shall be determined by the Secretary concerned, but in no case may the performance of funeral honors or the preparation for such honors be considered a period of drill or training. Ready Reserve members performing funeral honors shall be entitled to medical and other benefits authorized for the duty status in which they perform such honors. Members of the Ready Reserve in Funeral Honors Duty status under 10 U.S.C. § 12503 or 32 U.S.C. § 115 shall be entitled to benefits under 10 U.S.C. § 1074a.

Definition: For the purposes of this policy memorandum, the term "veteran" means a decedent who served in the active military, naval, or air service (as defined in 38 U.S.C. § 101(24)) and who was discharged or released from the military under conditions other than dishonorable. This also includes a member or former member of the Selected Reserve described in:

38 U.S.C. § 23O1(f). The Services may deny funeral honors if the member was discharged or released from Military Service under dishonorable conditions. Additionally, in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 985, the Services shall not provide honors at the funeral of any individual convicted of a capital offense under Federal or state law for which the person was sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole.

Waiver Authority:

The Secretary of Defense may waive the Military Funeral Honors requirement if it is considered necessary to meet the requirements of war, national emergency, contingency operation or other military requirements. Authority to grant this waiver will not be delegated below the level of Under Secretary of Defense. Before or immediately after a waiver is granted, the Secretary will send a notification of the waiver to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The policy delineated in this memorandum is effective January 1, 2000 and supersedes existing policy of DoDD 1300.15 "Military Funeral Support," September 30, 1985. The Military Departments shall forward copies of their implementing guidance by December 20, 1999. The Department of Defense will incorporate the guidance in this memorandum into the revision of DoDD 1300.15 "Military Funeral Support," September 30, 1985.

Request widest dissemination of this document to ensure Department-wide compliance. My point of contact for this matter is Captain Steve Whitney who may be reached at (703) 614-3112.

/s/ Alphonso Maldon, Jr.