The Department of Defense strives to support the families of wounded or deceased service members by providing them with accurate and compassionate services through the Casualty Assistance Program. The Casualty Assistance Program covers a wide spectrum of services ranging from supporting severely injured service members who are working to regain a level of normalcy in their lives to assisting family members of deceased, unaccounted for, or missing service members with final arrangements and with understanding and accessing certain benefits and entitlements.
The following are Frequently Asked Questions about the Casualty Assistance Program. Please click on the question and the answer will appear. Click again to hide the answer.
The Casualty Assistance Program provides prompt and compassionate assistance for service members' families in their times of need. Although "casualty" is commonly associated with death, the Casualty Assistance Program works with families of ill, injured, or deceased service members.
The DoD Wounded Warrior Resource Center, operated through a partnership with Military OneSource, provides injured service members and their families with information and assistance for concerns or difficulties experienced during the recovery process. Service members and their families can call the Wounded Warrior Resource Center anytime at (800) 342-9647 or contact the center through email at wwrc@militaryonesource.com. Support provided through the center is not designed to replace the specialized wounded warrior programs from each individual branch of Service. Specially trained consultants can provide consistent, quality, customer-centric support to include information on military facilities, health care services, and/or benefits, and ensure a hand-off to the appropriate military or federal agency with authority to resolve the matter.
In addition to the overall DoD program, each of the individual branches of Service operates programs designed to assist severely injured service members and their families: United States Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2), the Marine for Life Injured Support Program, the Navy Safe Harbor Program, and the Air Force Palace Helping Airmen Recover Together (HART). These programs tailor the support they provide to meet the specific needs of individual service members. Links or contact information for these programs can be found in the Casualty Assistance Resources section of this website.
The military offers assistance to families of deceased service members through Casualty Assistance Officers (CAOs). These CAOs notify families of the casualty, answer any questions they may have, help them with the administrative paperwork and arrangements associated with injuries, funerals, and burials, and help them to understand and access entitlements and benefits related to the death of the service member. CAOs work closely with family members from the time of the casualty until all benefits and entitlements have been processed and remain available to families afterwards to address any additional questions and concerns that may arise.
The different branches of Service use different titles for the CAO:
Army - Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO)
Marine Corps and Navy - Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO)
Air Force - Casualty Assistance Representative (CAR)
DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) both offer funeral and burial benefits and services to family members of deceased service members. DoD provides for the transport and interment of the service member's remains and authorizes travel entitlements for the surviving spouse, children, and service member's parents. The travel entitlement includes round trip transportation and two days of per diem at the interment site. Additionally, DoD and the VA offer the following services to assist family members in burying their deceased service members:
Military funeral honors - Provided by DoD, military funeral honors provide a final "thank you" to veterans who have defended the nation. Military funeral honors consist of, at a minimum, ceremonial folding and presenting of the American flag and the sounding of "Taps." Additional elements such as a firing party or color guard may also be included in the ceremony. More information can be found on the Military Funeral Honors website.
VA Burial Allowance - The VA Burial Allowance is a partial reimbursement of an eligible veteran's burial and funeral costs.
Burial flags - Burial flags are United States flags, provided at no cost, that drape the casket or urn of a deceased service member who served honorably in the military. The flag is intended to honor the memory of the veteran's service to the country.
Government furnished headstones and markers - Upon request, the VA will furnish, at no charge, a government headstone or marker for the grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world. Headstones and markers are also available for eligible spouses and dependents of veterans in a national, military post/base, or state veterans cemetery. More information on government furnished headstones and markers can be found on the National Cemetery Administration website.
Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC) - Provided by the VA, the PMC is a gold embossed paper certificate, signed by the President of the United States, to honor the memory of honorably discharged veterans. The PMC is available to the next-of-kin and loved ones of deceased service members.
Maybe. For spouses of military retirees or spouses of members who have been killed in action, they are and always will be covered by TRICARE. Family members of deceased active duty service members may be eligible to continue receiving health care at medical facilities under TRICARE at the active duty rate for a period of three years, after which they may receive health care at the retiree family member rate. For more information on TRICARE benefits and entitlements, please visit the TRICARE website.
Spouses and dependent children of veterans who have been rated by the VA as permanently or total disabled due to a service-connected disability, survivors of veterans who died from a VA-rated service-connected disability, or survivors of veterans who were rated as permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability are not eligible for care through TRICARE. In these cases, the spouse and dependent children may be eligible to receive care through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). More information on CHAMPVA can be found on the CHAMPVA website.
Yes. A family retains some benefits and privileges following the death of a service member. In addition to the TRICARE benefit, DoD offers some housing-related benefits and privileges to surviving family members, as well as continued access to the commissary, exchange, and various Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs. Eligible family members living in government family housing on the date of the service member's death are entitled to continue living there without charge for a period of 365 days. If a family vacates government housing prior to the 365 day limit, the family will be paid the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for the unused days. For families not in government-owned housing, BAH or an overseas housing allowance may be paid for the entire period of 365 days after the death of the service member. Spouses are also eligible to continue shopping in the commissaries and exchanges indefinitely unless they remarry. Children of deceased service members may continue to use the commissaries and exchanges until they reach the age of eighteen or twenty-three if they are enrolled in college. For more information, please speak with the Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO).
Yes, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and DoD offer a variety of insurance policies designed to provide service members and veterans with benefits that they may not be able to receive from private entities given the risk involved in military service. For the VA-administered programs listed below, the service member is automatically enrolled and covered at the maximum amount unless the member opts to decline coverage or chooses a reduced coverage amount. For the DoD-administered programs, service members are also automatically enrolled, but coverage amounts vary based on selected "base amounts" for the program. Surviving family members are encouraged to speak with their Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO) to determine the benefit level.
VA-Administered Programs:
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) - SGLI is a low-cost term life insurance protection policy for members of the uniformed Services payable in a non-taxable payment. For service members in active duty or Ready Reserve status, the coverage for SGLI is automatically set at the maximum amount. More information on the SGLI program can be found on the VA's SGLI website.
Traumatic Injury Protection Under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) - When covered by SGLI, the TSGLI program automatically provides coverage for service members against traumatic injury resulting in certain severe loss. Payment under the TSGLI program is a non-taxable sum which varies depending on the loss directly resulting from the traumatic injury. More information on the TSGLI program can be found on the VA's TSGLI website.
Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) - FSGLI automatically provides life insurance coverage to spouses and dependent children of service members covered by the SGLI program. Coverage amounts for FSGLI cannot exceed the coverage selected for the service member in SGLI. More information on the FSGLI program can be found on the VA's FSGLI website.
Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) - After a service member separates from the military, he or she can convert SGLI into VGLI to continue the term life insurance policy coverage, but only at a coverage level equal to or less than the coverage level of SGLI at the time of separation. The VGLI pays beneficiaries a tax-exempt payment equal to the level selected by the veteran and must be renewed every five years. More information on the VGLI program can be found on the VA website.
DoD-Administered Programs:
The Uniformed Services Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) - Administered by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), the SBP allows surviving family members to receive a portion of the service member's retired pay, even if the service member dies while on active duty. Every service member is automatically enrolled in the program at no cost. Income received from the SBP is subject to tax. More information on the SBP can be found on the Retired Pay section of the DFAS website.
Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) - Similar to the SBP, the RCSBP is an annuity paid to surviving spouses and, in some instances, dependent children of Reserve Component service members who elected to enroll in the program, have died, and had completed the satisfactory years of service qualifying them for retirement pay. As with the SBP, surviving spouses and/or dependent children can receive a portion of the elected RCSBP annuity base amount. Income received from the RCSBP is subject to income tax. More information on the RCSBP can be found on the DFAS website.
Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) - Surviving spouse who are beneficiaries of the SBP annuity and whose SBP annuity is partially or fully offset by the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) may be eligible for an additional allowance through the military. This is automatically paid by the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) and does not require that surviving spouses apply for the allowance. More information on the SSIA can be found on the DFAS website.
Upon the death of the service member, any unpaid pay and allowances that were due to the service member are paid to the beneficiary designated by the service member. In most cases, unpaid pay and allowances include money earned during the month and accrued leave, but can also include other amounts due, such as travel reimbursement expenses, per diem expenses, shipment of household goods allowances, and unpaid installments of a variable reenlistment bonus. The Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO) can provide assistance with completing the required form for claiming unpaid pay and allowances.
Additionally, DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offer various financial benefits to assist family members during their time of grief. The following programs are either annuity-styled monthly payments or a lump sum payment and are not subject to income tax:
VA Benefits:
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) - This is a monthly tax-free benefit paid to eligible surviving spouses and dependent children of a service member who died on active duty, veterans who died from service-related disabilities, and certain veterans who were being paid 100% VA disability compensation at time of death. Benefits from DIC are not automatic; family members must apply to receive them through the VA. More information on the DIC benefit can be found on the VA's Survivor's Benefits website.
Parent(s) DIC -This is an income-based monthly benefit for parents of a service member or veteran who died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated while on active duty or active duty for training; an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on active duty or active duty for training; or a service-connected disability. More information on the Parent(s) DIC benefit can be found on the VA's Survivor's Benefits website.
Nonservice-Connected Death Pension - This is a benefit payable to eligible surviving spouses and children of deceased wartime veterans based on financial need. More information on the Nonservice-Connected Death Pension can be found on the VA's Survivor's Benefits website.
DoD Benefits:
Death Gratuity - This is a lump sum payment to the surviving family of a service member to assist in meeting immediate living expenses. Death Gratuity payments will only be made if the service member dies on active duty, active duty for training, inactive duty for training, or within 120 days of release from active duty due to a service-related disability. More information on the Death Gratuity benefit can be provided by the CAO.
