Training Resources

Online Training Programs

Army

Army Casualty Officer Interactive Training This Casualty Officer interactive training tool requires AKO login.  It includes modules on Casualty Notification Officer (CNO), Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO), and CNO/CAO Combined.

Army Wounded Warrior (AW2) Resource Guide This Guide provides an overview of the AW2 program, as well as information on additional sources of assistance for severely wounded, injured, or ill Soldiers.

Navy

Navy Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO) Program Guidebook This guidebook provides information on issues common to casualty cases to increase Navy Casualty Assistance Calls Officers' (CACO) understanding of the program and to help CACOs in completing their mission and obligation to grieving Navy families.

Marine Corps

Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO) Program Guidebook This guidebook provides information on issues common to casualty cases to increase Marine Corps Casualty Assistance Calls Officers' (CACO) understanding of the program and to help CACOs in completing their mission and obligation to grieving Marine Corps families.

Publications 

The following publications provide additional information on military casualty assistance topics to educate service providers.

Department of Defense

A Survivor's Guide to Benefits: Taking Care of Our Families  Published by DoD, this Guide is intended to help families through the period following the death of a service member. It provides an overview of the application for benefits and entitlements process for families of deceased service members and military leaders.

Army

Guide for Families of Fallen Soldiers  This Guide provides an overview of the rights, benefits, privileges, and entitlements that may be available to families of fallen soldiers as well as the process involved in exercising them.

Marine Corps

Marine Corps Casualty Assistance Calls Officer's (CACO) Guide to Benefits and Allowances The Marine Corps provides casualty assistance to the next-of-kin (NOK) and other family members or designated beneficiaries of Marines who die on active duty, active duty for training, inactive duty training, and those on Temporary/Permanent Disability Retired List (T/PDRL). Casualty assistance includes counseling concerning benefits and entitlements, completion of claim forms for monetary benefits or privileges, and resolving or addressing any problems or concerns the NOK may have with respect to decedent affairs.

Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard Casualty Assistance Calls Officer Guidebook  This guidebook describes the procedures, roles, and responsibilities of CACOs in their conduct of the program for family members of a Coast Guard service member who has died, is seriously injured, or missing.

Other Guides

ADA: Know Your Rights – Returning Service Members with Disabilities  The booklet, developed by the Department of Justice, provides military service members who have been seriously wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom a basic understanding of their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and where to turn for additional information and assistance.  

Casualty Assistance: Keeping it all Together  Provided by Military OneSource, this publication is a notebook for injured service members and their families to assist in organizing information.  The notebook contains a fill-in-the-blank workbook for organizing information, helpful articles about the recovery process, and plastic sleeves and zipper envelopes for keeping business cards, travel vouchers, and other papers organized.

Casualty Assistance: The Days Ahead  Published by Military OneSource, designed with the help of military widows with first hand knowledge of the task at hand, The Days Ahead is a collection of information papers about benefits and resources, as well as plastic sleeves, zipper envelopes, business card organizers, and other organizing tools.

Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents (2010 Edition)  Published by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents summarizes the various benefits available to veterans of military service and their dependents.

Our Hero Handbook: A Guide for Families of Wounded Service Members  Provided by Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Our Hero Handbook walks wounded service members and their families through the recovery process to include transition back to civilian life.

Post-Deployment Stress: What Families Should Know, What Families Can Do This document from RAND provides information for families of veterans returning from deployment about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other emotional and behavioral problems that veterans may face.

Post-Deployment Stress: What You Should Know, What You Can Do This document from RAND provides veterans returning from a deployment with information on PTSD, TBI, and other mental health problems that they may face.