a

GAO

United States Government Accountability Office

Report to Congressional Committees

September 2006 MILITARY 

PERSONNEL

DOD Needs an 

Oversight Framework 

and Standards to 

Improve Management 

of Its Casualty 

Assistance Programs

GAO-06-1010
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

September 2006

MILITARY PERSONNEL

DOD Needs an Oversight Framework and 

Standards to Improve Management of Its 

Casualty Assistance Programs 

Highlights of GAO-06-1010, a report to 

congressional committees 

Almost 6,000 servicemembers died

from October 2001 through 

September 2005. The Department 

of Defense (DOD), the Department 

of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the 

Social Security Administration 

(SSA) provide assistance to 

survivors of servicemembers who 

die on active duty. This assistance

includes but is not limited to 

making funeral arrangements, 

applying for federal benefits,

providing relocation assistance, 

and coordinating with other

agencies. The National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

2006 required GAO to assess

casualty assistance provided to 

survivors of servicemembers. For 

this report, GAO reviewed the 

extent to which DOD has (1) an

oversight framework and standards 

to monitor the assistance it

provides to survivors of these 

deceased servicemembers and 

 (2) visibility over the costs of its 

casualty assistance programs. GAO 

also reviewed the roles of VA and 

SSA in providing casualty 

assistance. In conducting this

review, GAO analyzed agency

documents and interviewed

program officials, limiting its scope

to federal programs. 

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD 

develop an oversight framework

and add standards to its casualty

assistance policy. DOD did not

provide its formal comments in 

time to be included in this report. 

DOD does not have a comprehensive oversight framework and standards 

that could improve its ability to monitor the casualty assistance it provides 

to survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty. The absence of

a comprehensive oversight framework exists because DOD has not 

developed departmentwide program objectives and all the necessary 

outcome measures to monitor the military services’ casualty assistance

programs’ effectiveness and efficiency. GAO found that while each service 

gathers information about its casualty assistance program and DOD and the 

services meet three times a year to share information, program performance 

comparisons across services are hampered by the lack of common metrics 

and assessment methods. Moreover, DOD’s current policy does not specify 

key standards for the services’ casualty assistance programs that would 

facilitate more consistent delivery of assistance across the services. Such 

standards would include processes (1) for consistent delivery of short- and 

long-term assistance across and within the services and (2) for coordinating 

with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service about benefit payments to 

survivors. 

DOD does not know the total costs of its casualty assistance programs 

because it has limited visibility over all program costs. This limited visibility 

exists for two primary reasons: (1) casualty assistance program costs are 

scattered across many different parts of DOD’s budget, including military 

personnel, operation and maintenance, and defense health program budgets, 

and (2) costs of benefits provided to survivors of active duty 

servicemembers and military retirees, such as the annuities, are lumped 

together. Although casualty assistance program costs and benefits represent 

a small portion of DOD’s overall budget, without visibility over costs, it is 

difficult for program officials to make informed decisions regarding the 

costs of any changes to DOD’s casualty assistance programs. In GAO’s July 

2005 report on the transparency of the military compensation system, GAO 

recommended that DOD compile the total costs to provide military 

compensation and communicate them to decision makers perhaps as part of

its annual budget submission to Congress. Casualty assistance benefits are 

another type of cost that could be included as part of total compensation 

costs. Because GAO recommended that DOD compile total compensation 

costs in its July 2005 report, GAO is not making that recommendation here. 

VA and SSA primarily provide long-term financial and nonfinancial benefits 

to support and compensate survivors starting almost immediately after the 

servicemember’s death and possibly extending through the lifetime of the 

survivor. However, neither agency has visibility over the extent to which 

these survivors utilize their benefits or the overall costs of their 

participation. www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-1010.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Derek Stewart 

at (202) 512-5559 or stewartd@gao.gov. 
Page i GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Contents

Letter 1

Results in Brief 4

Background 7

DOD Has Not Established an Oversight Framework and Key 

Standards That Would Enhance the Management of Its Casualty 

Assistance Programs 11

DOD Has Limited Visibility over Casualty Assistance Programs’ 

Costs 21

VA and SSA Primarily Provide Survivors with Long-term

Benefits 23

Conclusions 24

Recommendations for Executive Action 25

Agency Comments 26

Appendixes

Appendix I: Survivor Benefits Administered by the Department of 

Defense 27

Appendix II: Survivor Benefits Administered by Federal Agencies Other 

Than DOD 30

Appendix III: Scope and Methodology 34

Appendix IV: Example of the Prototype Output from the Army’s 

Web-Based Benefits Statement for Survivors 38

Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 40

Related GAO Products 41

Tables Table 1: Duration of Casualty Assistance Officer Training by 

Service 15

Table 2: Installations in the United States and Germany Where GAO 

Conducted Site Visits from January through July 2006 35

Figure Figure 1: Overview of the Casualty Assistance Process 9
Contents

Page ii GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Abbreviations

DFAS Defense Finance and Accounting Service

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DOD Department of Defense

DOL Department of Labor

GPRA Government Performance and Results Act

SSA Social Security Administration

VA Department of Veterans Affairs

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Page 1 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

A

September 22, 2006 Letr

The Honorable John Warner

Chairman

The Honorable Carl Levin

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

The Honorable Duncan L. Hunter

Chairman

The Honorable Ike Skelton

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Armed Services

House of Representatives

From October 2001 through September 2005, almost 6,000 servicemembers 

died in combat- and non-combat-related events. The National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 noted that it was the sense of 

Congress that “the sacrifices made by the members of the Armed Forces 

are significant and are worthy of meaningful expressions of gratitude by 

the United States, especially in cases of sacrifice through loss of life.1

 In 

addition to offering its gratitude, the federal government provides a wide 

variety of benefits to the survivors of deceased servicemembers. Moreover, 

the Secretary of Defense has identified caring for servicemembers as well 

as the survivors of deceased servicemembers as a priority for the 

department.2

 In our July 2004 report, we identified lump sum payments; 

annuities; and various other benefits, such as continued use of 

commissaries and exchanges, that may be provided to the survivors of 

servicemembers who die while on active duty.3

 See appendixes I and II for 

a detailed description of the benefits available for survivors of 

servicemembers who die while on active duty.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has a primary role in delivering benefits 

and assistance to survivors, while the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 

1

Pub. L. No. 108-136 § 647 (2003).

2

See Department of Defense, Priorities 2006-2008 (Arlington, Va.: Mar. 20, 2006). 

3

See GAO, Military Personnel: Survivor Benefits for Servicemembers and Federal, State, 

and City Government Employees, GAO-04-814 (Washington, D.C.: July 15, 2004).
Page 2 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

the Social Security Administration (SSA), and other agencies also provide 

an array of benefits and assistance.4

 DOD’s casualty assistance programs, 

which are carried out by each of the four military services, are intended to 

guide survivors (primarily spouses, children, and parents) through the 

casualty assistance process, which includes notification of death, help with 

funeral arrangements, assistance with applying for government benefits, 

and the return of the deceased servicemember’s personal effects. Since 

2001, Congress and federal agencies have enhanced benefits for survivors 

of servicemembers who die while on active duty. For example, recent 

legislation increased the DOD-administered death gratuity5

 payment from 

$12,000 to $100,000 and the maximum coverage for the VA-administered 

Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance from $250,000 to $400,000.

Some survivors and advocacy groups expressed concerns during a 

February 2005 congressional hearing about the quality, timeliness, and 

equity of the casualty assistance and benefits that deceased 

servicemembers’ survivors receive. For example, one surviving spouse 

related her experiences since her husband died 3 years ago. Among other 

things, she stated that the casualty assistance officer tried to be helpful but 

was not educated on the benefits available to her or her children nor could 

he find the right people to answer her questions. Another survivor 

described situations where widows experienced delays in the payment or 

reimbursement for their husbands’ funerals.

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 

is responsible for overseeing the military services’ casualty assistance 

programs for the families of servicemembers who have died while on active 

duty and issuing DOD-wide policy on how the services should implement 

their programs. Oversight is an important tool for DOD to use in monitoring

4

The U.S. Coast Guard fulfills a role similar to DOD, but its casualty assistance program is 

much smaller than those of the other military services. It is responsible for providing 

benefits and assistance to survivors of Coast Guard servicemembers who die while on 

active duty. According to Coast Guard officials, about 30 servicemembers die, on average, 

each year. 

5

The death gratuity is a onetime cash payment to assist survivors in meeting financial needs, 

especially during the period immediately following the servicemember’s death and before 

other benefits become available. 
Page 3 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

the implementation of its Social Compact6—a strategic human capital plan 

addressing quality-of-life issues and benefits—with families. Further, 

effective oversight can provide DOD with the information it needs to make 

data-driven policy and program decisions. Among other things, DOD’s 

casualty assistance policy requires that the military services follow DOD’s 

policies and procedures for their casualty assistance programs.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 required DOD 

to revise its policy to develop consistent procedures for the delivery of 

casualty assistance. For example, the act called for uniform procedures, 

such as centralized short- and long-term case management procedures.7

Furthermore, the act required us to assess the adequacy of current policies 

and procedures of and funding for casualty assistance programs. In June 

2006, we briefed your offices on the requirements outlined in the act. This 

report provides further information about DOD’s and the services’ 

management of casualty assistance programs. Specifically, we determined 

the extent to which DOD has (1) an oversight framework and standards in 

place to monitor the casualty assistance it provides to survivors of 

servicemembers who die while on active duty and (2) visibility over the 

costs of its casualty assistance programs. In addition, we reviewed the 

roles of VA and SSA in providing casualty assistance to survivors of 

servicemembers who die on active duty.

In conducting this review, we limited our scope to federal programs and the 

benefits and assistance provided to the survivors of servicemembers who 

die while on active duty. To assess the extent to which DOD has an 

oversight framework and standards in place to monitor the casualty 

assistance it provides survivors, we gathered and analyzed various 

documents, including program policies; training manuals; the Government 

Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA); and congressional hearing 

statements from survivors, advocacy groups, and other relevant parties. We 

interviewed policy and program officials at DOD, including those in the 

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the 

Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and the Defense Finance 

and Accounting Service (DFAS). Additionally, we visited 10 stateside and 

overseas installations where we interviewed numerous parties involved in 

6

See Department of Defense, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community 

and Family Policy, A New Social Compact: A Reciprocal Partnership between the 

Department of Defense, Service Members and Families (Arlington, Va.: July 2002).

7

Pub. L. No. 109-163 § 562(e) (2006).
Page 4 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

casualty assistance programs at the installation level and obtained 

supporting documentation. We interviewed survivors whose spouses had 

died while on active duty, advocacy groups for the survivors of military 

decedents, and relief or emergency aid societies that assist 

servicemembers and their families. We similarly reviewed the casualty 

assistance policies and procedures of the U.S. Coast Guard, which is a part 

of the Department of Homeland Security, and interviewed Coast Guard 

program managers who oversee casualty assistance efforts. To assess the 

extent to which DOD has visibility over the costs of its casualty assistance 

programs, we analyzed budget documents from fiscal years 2000 through 

2005 for DOD, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. We also 

interviewed budget officials from the services and installations. To review 

the roles of VA and SSA in providing casualty assistance to survivors of 

servicemembers who die on active duty, we gathered and analyzed 

documents, including program policies; training manuals; sample 

correspondences; and congressional hearing statements from survivors, 

advocacy groups, and other relevant parties. We also interviewed policy 

and program officials at VA and SSA. Additionally, at the stateside 

installations we visited, we interviewed VA officials whose offices were at 

the installations about their involvement in the casualty assistance 

programs. We analyzed budget documents from fiscal years 2001 through 

2005 for VA. We also interviewed officials from VA about budget data. We 

performed our work from January 2006 through August 2006 in accordance 

with generally accepted government auditing standards. See appendix III 

for more information about our scope and methodology.

Results in Brief DOD does not have a comprehensive oversight framework and key 

standards necessary to monitor the casualty assistance it provides to 

survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty. Thus, DOD does 

not have the information it needs to fulfill its responsibility of overseeing 

the services’ casualty assistance programs and evaluate the effectiveness 

and efficiency of its programs. GPRA provides federal agencies with a 

framework for developing oversight, which includes establishing program 

objectives, performance metrics, and reporting requirements. In addition, 

DOD casualty assistance policy requires that the military services’ casualty 

assistance programs have consistent policies and procedures, and the 

National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year for 2006 also required 

DOD to revise its policy to develop consistent procedures for casualty 

assistance. While each service gathers information about its casualty 

assistance program, DOD does not have a comprehensive oversight 

framework because it has not developed departmentwide program 
Page 5 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

objectives and all the necessary outcome measures to monitor the services’ 

casualty assistance programs’ performance. Although DOD has established 

the Casualty Assistance Board as a mechanism for DOD’s and the military 

services’ program directors to share information—for example, what is 

working well and emerging problems—comparisons of findings across 

services are hampered by the lack of common metrics and assessment 

methods, such as a survey of survivors’ satisfaction with assistance they 

received from casualty assistance officers. Furthermore, DOD’s current 

policy does not specify three key standards that would enhance the 

delivery of casualty assistance across and within the services. First, there is 

no DOD-wide, comprehensive checklist for casualty assistance officers—

representatives of the military services who assist survivors—to use when 

determining what actions need to be taken, by whom, and within what time 

frames for survivors to receive certain benefits. Second, there are no 

standard, required coordination procedures for DFAS to follow when 

making certain benefit payments to survivors. Also, during our interviews, 

casualty assistance officers expressed frustration that they did not have a 

point of contact at DFAS to answer questions about the status of 

processing payments to survivors or from whom to obtain confirmation 

that DFAS had received submitted paperwork and that it was completed 

correctly. Lastly, DOD does not currently provide a comprehensive, 

integrated statement for survivors to aid in their understanding of the 

amount and array of benefits that are available to survivors and how those 

benefits change over their lifetime. Congress provided the Army with 

$3.5 million in fiscal year 2004 to develop a system that produces an 

integrated statement of benefits for survivors. The Army plans to introduce 

this system to survivors of deceased Army servicemembers in fall 2006. 

While DOD is currently revising its casualty assistance program policy to 

improve its oversight and incorporate some standards, it has not been 

finalized, which leaves some uncertainty as to how these issues will be 

addressed and implemented. Without an established framework for 

oversight and key standards, Congress and DOD do not have the 

information they need to effectively monitor casualty assistance programs 

and determine whether changes made to the programs will achieve their 

intended results. We are making recommendations to improve DOD’s 

ability to effectively manage its casualty assistance programs, including 

developing an oversight framework and incorporating additional standards 

in its casualty assistance policy.

DOD does not know the total costs of its casualty assistance programs 

because it has limited visibility over all program costs. This limited 

visibility over costs exists for two primary reasons: (1) casualty assistance 
Page 6 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

program costs are scattered across numerous budgets and (2) costs of 

benefits provided to the survivors of deceased active duty servicemembers 

and deceased military retirees are lumped together. First, costs for casualty 

assistance are found in multiple parts of DOD’s budget. Costs for some 

benefits, such as the death gratuity and Survivor Benefit Plan, are found in 

the military personnel budget, while costs for other benefits, such as burial 

expenses and health care, are found in operation and maintenance and the 

defense health program budgets. Moreover, casualty assistance costs are 

spread throughout the various levels of DOD, including service 

headquarters and individual installations. For example, the services 

allocate operation and maintenance funds to individual installations to 

operate aspects of the casualty assistance programs, including travel and 

other costs associated with funeral honors. Also, casualty assistance 

funding is paid out of annual and supplemental appropriations. Some costs 

for survivor benefits—for example, the retroactive increase in the amount 

of the death gratuity payment—are included in supplemental budgets. 

Second, the costs of benefits provided to the survivors of deceased active 

duty servicemembers are lumped together with those of deceased military 

retirees. For example, because the Survivor Benefit Plan is an annuity 

provided to eligible survivors of both deceased active duty servicemembers 

and retirees, it is difficult for DOD to determine how much is specifically 

spent on survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty. 

Federal accounting standards specify guidance for providing relevant and 

reliable cost information to assist Congress and executives in making 

decisions about allocating federal resources.8

 According to DOD officials, 

survivor groups, and survivors whom we interviewed, all major benefits 

have been paid to survivors. Although costs of the casualty assistance 

programs and associated survivor benefits represent a small portion of 

DOD’s overall budget, without better visibility over costs, it is difficult for 

program officials to make informed decisions regarding the costs of any 

changes to DOD’s casualty assistance programs. In our July 2005 report on 

the transparency of the military compensation system, we recommended 

that DOD compile the total costs to provide military compensation and 

communicate them to decision makers perhaps as part of its annual budget

8

GAO, Business Modernization: NASA’s Integrated Financial Management Program Does 

Not Fully Address Agency’s External Reporting Issue, GAO-04-151 (Washington, D.C.: 

Nov. 21, 2003). Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards No. 4, Managerial 

Cost Accounting Standards, requires agencies to report the full cost of their programs in 

their general purpose financial reports aimed at assisting congressional and executive 

decision makers in allocating federal resources.
Page 7 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

submission to Congress.9 Casualty assistance benefits are another type of 

cost that could be included as part of total compensation costs. Because 

we recommended that DOD compile total compensation costs in our July 

2005 report, we are not making that recommendation here.

VA and SSA primarily administer long-term financial and nonfinancial 

benefits, which provide support or compensation to survivors starting 

almost immediately after the death of the servicemember and possibly 

extending through the lifetime of the survivor.10 Since the onset of 

Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, VA and SSA established, 

in coordination with DOD, policies and procedures that were designed to 

expedite payments of benefits to survivors. These policies allow for DOD’s 

casualty assistance officers or the survivors to contact VA and SSA to 

initiate the application process and in most cases start the receipt of 

benefits within a few days. However, neither VA nor SSA has visibility over 

the extent to which survivors of servicemembers who die on active duty 

utilize benefits or the overall costs involved in providing these benefits. VA, 

for example, provides many of its benefits, including Dependency and 

Indemnity Compensation annuity payments, to eligible survivors other than 

those of servicemembers who die on active duty. As with the vast majority 

of U.S. workers, SSA provides survivors of deceased servicemembers with 

Social Security recurring payments and a onetime $255 payment. The 

amount of the recurring payment is based on the deceased employee’s 

employment earnings.

Background DOD’s casualty assistance policy requires that the military services notify 

the next of kin (for example, spouse and parents) of a servicemember’s

9

GAO, Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Improve the Transparency and Reassess the 

Reasonableness, Appropriateness, Affordability, and Sustainability of Its Military 

Compensation System, GAO-05-798 (Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2005). 

10Financial benefits include Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and Social Security 

benefits. Nonfinancial benefits include guaranteed home loan and bereavement counseling. 

See app. II for a detailed description of all survivor benefits. 
Page 8 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

death, provide assistance to the survivors, and document casualties.11

Although the individual services have established unique policies and 

procedures for implementing their casualty assistance programs, the 

overarching process is similar across the services.12 Figure 1 provides a 

general overview of the casualty assistance process, and the remainder of 

this section describes the process as required by policy.

11DOD Instruction 1300.18, Military Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies and Procedures 

(Dec. 18, 2000), sets forth the DOD program, and that policy is currently being revised. The 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Pub. L. No. 109-163 § 562) required, 

among other things, that not later than August 1, 2006, the Secretary of Defense—in 

consultation with the secretaries of the services, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the 

Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard—shall prescribe a 

comprehensive policy for DOD on the provision of casualty assistance to survivors and next 

of kin of members of the armed forces who die during military service. In addition, 10 U.S.C. 

§ 1481-1482 provides authority for casualty assistance related to the recovery, care, and 

disposition of remains and the expenses related to a servicemember’s death.

12Each military service has a casualty assistance policy: Army Regulation 600-8-1, Army 

Casualty Program (Apr. 7, 2006); Air Force Instruction 36-3002, Casualty Services (July 25, 

2005); Bureau of Naval Personnel Instruction 1770.3, The Navy Casulaty Assistance Calls 

Program (CACP) Manual (July 10, 1995); Marine Corps Order P3040.4E, Marine Corps 

Casualty Procedures Manual (Feb. 27, 2003); and Commandant Instruction M1770.1C, 

Coast Guard Decedent Affairs Guide (Sept. 18, 1991). 
Page 9 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Figure 1: Overview of the Casualty Assistance Process

The casualty assistance process entails numerous responsibilities, many of 

which must be addressed quickly following a servicemember’s death. 

Servicemembers are encouraged to update a Record of Emergency Data 

Form (DD Form 93), among other things, to identify contact information 

about the survivor(s) who are entitled to (1) make decisions about issues 

such as funeral arrangements and (2) receive certain benefits, such as the 

death gratuity and unpaid compensation/allowances.

Soon after the servicemember dies, the casualty assistance process begins 

with notifying the next of kin of the death. This is usually performed by 

uniformed military representative who is accompanied by a chaplain, if 

available. The notification team is trained to compassionately deliver news 

that expresses the secretary of the service’s regret that the servicemember 

died and broadly describes the circumstances surrounding the 

servicemember’s death. The notification team also offers to wait with the 

next of kin until other family members or friends arrive—if it is so desired. 

The services endeavor to notify the next of kin in all instances of death 

(deaths from combat, training accidents, automobile accidents, etc.); 

however, deaths that occur off an installation can result in civilian 

authorities providing the initial notification.

Servicemember dies

on active duty

Next-of-kin are notified

by uniformed military

service representatives

Personal effects

are inventoried and

provided to the

eligible person 

Service representatives

assist with making

funeral arrangements,

including the transportation

of remains to their

final resting place

Casualty assistance

officers begin the

application process

for federal

government benefits

Long-term

assistance

Casualty assistance

officers continue to

assist the family

until federal

government benefit

payments have

started and the

family determines

it no longer

needs assistance 

Source: GAO analysis of DOD information.
Page 10 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Very soon after notification, a casualty assistance officer13 begins assisting 

the person the servicemember authorized to make funeral arrangements as 

well as survivors who are entitled to federal benefits. For example, the 

death gratuity payment is typically provided to survivors within 72 hours of 

the death. After the funeral, and in some cases before the funeral occurs, 

casualty assistance officers assist the survivors with beginning the 

processes for obtaining the federal benefits to which they are entitled. The 

casualty assistance officer continues to assist the family until the surviving 

family determines that it no longer needs assistance.14 The amount of time 

that survivors require this type and level of assistance varies, but Army 

officials stated that this period typically lasts 6 months.

At the same time, the unit typically assigns one or more “summary court 

officers” who are responsible for gathering, inventorying, and possibly 

seeing to the cleaning of the servicemembers’ possessions. For example, a 

summary court officer would be assigned to a case of a single deceased 

servicemember who had lived on an installation. The summary court 

officer would be responsible for inventorying and packing the decedent’s 

belongings and sending them to the authorized recipient. Similarly, a case 

of a servicemember who died serving in combat might be assigned a 

summary court officer; however, the servicemember’s belongings would be 

shipped to Aberdeen Personal Effects Depot in Aberdeen, Maryland, to be 

cataloged, cleaned, and returned to the designated recipient. In addition, 

another summary court officer might be assigned if the deceased 

servicemember had additional personal effects located on or around the 

stateside installation where the servicemember had been assigned.

Recently, the Marine Corps and Army have established a formal process for 

providing long-term assistance for survivors of servicemembers who die 

while on active duty. Long-term assistance, for the purposes of this report, 

is defined as any assistance that is provided after federal government 

13Although the military services have different titles for this representative—that is, casualty 

assistance calls officer, casualty assistance officer, or casualty assistance representative—

we will use the term casualty assistance officer as a general term to refer to this position. 

The services divide the duties in different ways, and in some cases use civilians.

14Casualty assistance officers may provide assistance beyond that required to access federal 

benefit programs, such as requesting a police escort to transport the deceased 

servicemember to his/her final resting place. In addition to the casualty assistance officer, 

survivors may receive support and assistance from the servicemember’s unit, installationbased bereavement groups, as well as family readiness groups—made up of spouses of 

servicemembers who provide support to one another. 
Page 11 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

benefit payments have started and family members have determined that 

they no longer need assistance. Long-term assistance could include 

providing answers to questions or help with issues concerning benefits—

such as annuities, medical and dental insurance, housing allowances, or 

moving reimbursements—or details of the servicemember’s death or 

autopsy. The eligibility for these benefits is affected by life changes that 

may occur, such as remarriage or children turning 18 years of age. For 

example, survivors may elect to receive the child-only option of the 

Survivor Benefit Plan, in which case the children would stop receiving 

compensation when each reaches 18 years of age. Spouses and other 

dependents are also eligible for health insurance coverage. During the first 

3 years, they are considered active duty dependents; after this period, they 

are converted to retiree dependent status. This conversion requires the 

survivor to pay an enrollment fee as well as premiums.

DOD Has Not 

Established an 

Oversight Framework 

and Key Standards 

That Would Enhance 

the Management of Its 

Casualty Assistance 

Programs

DOD has not established a comprehensive oversight framework and some 

key standards necessary to monitor its casualty assistance programs in that 

(1) it has not developed departmentwide program objectives and has few 

outcome measures with which to monitor the services’ casualty assistance 

programs’ performance and (2) its current policy does not specify 

standards that would enhance the consistent delivery of casualty 

assistance across the services. Without evaluations of the effectiveness and 

efficiency of the services’ casualty assistance programs and key standards, 

decision makers in Congress and at DOD do not have the information they 

need to make data-driven decisions about the services’ delivery of 

assistance or changes to survivor benefits. While DOD is currently revising 

its casualty assistance program policy to improve its oversight and 

incorporate some standards, it has not yet been finalized, which leaves 

some uncertainty as to how these issues will be addressed and 

implemented.

DOD Does Not Have a 

Comprehensive Oversight 

Framework Establishing 

Casualty Assistance 

Outcome Measures

DOD does not have a comprehensive oversight framework because it has 

not established departmentwide program objectives and all the necessary 

outcome measures to monitor the effectiveness of the services’ casualty 

assistance programs. GPRA provides federal agencies with a model
Page 12 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

framework for developing program oversight.15 Specifically, GPRA 

establishes a results-oriented framework that includes strategic plans for 

program activities and identifies, among other things, program goals and 

performance measures and reports on the degree to which goals are met.16

In addition to GPRA guidance for enhancing program oversight, Congress, 

in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, required 

DOD to revise its policy to develop consistent procedures for casualty 

assistance and reporting of data-driven information on the services’ 

programs.

DOD casualty assistance policy does not specify departmentwide 

objectives. In our April 1998 report, we issued guidance on developing 

program objectives, including specifying that objectives should be 

reasonably free of any significant bias that would distort the accurate 

assessment of performance.17 To the greatest extent possible, the 

objectives should not require subjective considerations or judgments, but 

should include a quantifiable, numerical target level or other measurable 

value. Similarly, DOD and the services do not use departmentwide outcome 

measures for gathering information, such as a survey of survivors’ 

satisfaction with assistance they received from casualty assistance officers, 

timeliness of receipt of benefits, and other related factors. However, the 

services do track some metrics that examine the timeliness of benefits 

payments, such as when the survivor received the death gratuity payment,18

and the types of assistance provided. In 2000, DOD established the Casualty 

Advisory Board as a mechanism for the department’s and the military 

services’ program directors to share information—for example, what is 

working well and emerging problems, recommend policy changes, develop 

15GAO, Results-Oriented Government: GPRA Has Established a Solid Foundation for 

Achieving Greater Results, GAO-04-38 (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 10, 2004). 

16Pub. L. No. 103-62. 

17See GAO, The Results Act: An Evaluator’s Guide to Assessing Agency Annual 

Performance Plans, GAO/GGD-10.1.20 (Washington, D.C.: April 1998), for a discussion of 

key performance indicators, the means used to verify and validate the measured values and 

other characteristics, on assessing an agency’s annual performance plans. 

18DOD’s Defense Casualty Information Processing System is used to track the status of the 

transportation and processing of remains and personal effects. Timeliness measures are 

created for this information. In addition to an array of data elements on the incident and on 

the personal, family, and military characteristics of servicemembers, the system also 

contains information on the personal protective equipment worn by the casualty at the time 

of the incident. 
Page 13 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

actions to incorporate legislative changes, and hear from interested groups 

and individuals on the adequacy of the casualty assistance program. This 

board meets three times a year and invites officials from other agencies, 

such as DFAS, VA, and SSA, as well as surviving family members and other 

organizations. At these meetings, the program directors may provide other 

board members with information gleaned from their service-specific 

experiences. For example:

• The Navy and Marine Corps mail a survey to survivors to assess the 

effectiveness of their casualty assistance officers. The Navy also surveys 

casualty assistance officers to determine the support they received from 

regional or headquarters casualty assistance offices and their ability to 

perform their duties based on the training and other resources they 

received.

• The Air Force sends a letter to survivors requesting comments on the 

assistance that survivors were provided during the process.

• The Army conducts a telephone survey of survivors to gather data about 

the level of service that the Army and the casualty assistance officer 

provided.

These tools allow the services to assess some aspects of program 

performance and discuss good practices. However, because DOD has not 

established a comprehensive oversight framework, it is limited in its ability 

to monitor casualty assistance provided to survivors across and within the 

services, and to take corrective actions if issues are identified. During our 

interviews with casualty assistance officers, we observed different 

standards for assisting survivors. For example, some casualty assistance 

officers arranged for survivors to meet with legal services and VA 

representatives as part of their routine duties while others did not. 

Similarly, some casualty assistance officers we interviewed checked to see 

if survivors were entitled to Montgomery G.I. Bill refunds19 and Thrift

19Servicemembers may elect to contribute up to $1,200 or more to the Montgomery G.I. Bill, 

which in turn provides them with up to 36 months of education benefits. 
Page 14 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Savings Plan reimbursements.20 Without a policy requiring common 

program outcome metrics and reporting requirements on the metrics, DOD 

does not have the fact-based data needed to answer decision makers’ 

questions, such as whether uniformed servicemembers serving as casualty 

assistance officers as assigned or full-time civilian casualty assistance 

officers provide better assistance. Further, the lack of an oversight 

framework limits the amount of information DOD has to manage casualty 

assistance programs and to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of 

program operations. Lastly, the lack of an oversight framework hinders the 

ability of decision makers to determine if changes, such as defining core 

standards of training, made to the program will achieve their intended 

results.

DOD Has Not Established 

Key Standards for the 

Services’ Casualty 

Assistance Programs

DOD has not established key standards to maximize the consistent delivery 

of casualty assistance across and within the services. DOD’s casualty 

assistance policy requires that the services’ casualty assistance programs 

have consistent policies and procedures. Furthermore, Congress required, 

in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, that DOD 

develop consistent procedures for the delivery of casualty assistance. 

However, DOD’s policy does not specify standards for the services’ 

programs. We found potential for inconsistencies both across and within 

the services in the delivery of short- and long-term assistance. In addition, 

we found (1) no standard, required procedures for coordination between 

the military services and DFAS to follow when making benefit payments to 

survivors and (2) a need for a DOD-supplied, comprehensive, integrated 

statement for survivors to reference in understanding the array of benefits 

that are available to them and how those benefits might change over their 

lifetimes.

Short- and Long-term Casualty 

Assistance Differs among and 

within the Services

Because DOD has not established some key standards for its casualty 

assistance programs, short- and long-term assistance differ among, and 

sometimes within, the services. In addition to these inconsistencies across 

the services, the lack of certain common requirements sometimes results in 

20The Thrift Savings Plan, similar to a type of private-sector plan commonly called 401(k), 

allows servicemembers to contribute as much as desired of their basic pay and incentive or 

special pay that they receive as long as total contributions do not exceed the monetary 

limits placed by the Internal Revenue Service. In 2004, 21 percent of active duty 

servicemembers participated in the plan. 
Page 15 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

different assistance-related procedures being used within the same service, 

depending on the regional casualty assistance program.

We found three general areas with potential for inconsistency in the 

delivery of short-term assistance.

• Casualty assistance officer training varies in duration, timing, and 

content. The training given to casualty assistance officers affects their 

familiarity with both the casualty assistance procedures and associated 

survivor benefits. Table 1 shows that classroom training, which in some 

cases may be supplemented with other training, varies markedly across 

the services. Specifically, our review of training materials and interviews 

with installation officials revealed variations in the type and content of 

materials covered in the training. In our discussions with casualty 

assistance officers across the services, we observed differences in their 

familiarity with the benefits and types of assistance provided to 

survivors. For example, some casualty assistance officers we 

interviewed learned through written guidance that survivors are to be 

reimbursed for the deceased servicemembers’ contributions to the 

Thrift Savings Plan and Montgomery G.I. Bill contributions, while others 

were unaware of this benefit before they participated in our interviews. 

The lack of DOD-wide data on casualty assistance officers’ training 

means that DOD does not know the effectiveness of the training 

programs, whether training could be conducted more efficiently, and 

whether variations in training affect the consistency of support provided 

by casualty assistance officers.

Table 1: Duration of Casualty Assistance Officer Training by Service

Source: GAO analysis of DOD information.

a

Some of the variation in the duration of training is due to service-specific differences in who is 

responsible for what aspects of the assistance. For example, the Air Force uses different personnel to 

assist the next of kin with funeral-related matters and subsequent application for federal benefits, but 

the other services use a single individual for both of these general types of duties.

Service Durationa

Army Varies, depending on casualty assistance center, from 4 to 40 hours

Air Force 3-day program

Marine Corps 4 hours, also some installations offer refresher training

Navy 1 or 2 days depending on region
Page 16 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

• There is no DOD-wide, comprehensive checklist for completing 

casualty assistance duties and for tracking case progress. Each 

service, and in some cases each region, uses a different checklist to 

identify the casualty assistance officer’s duties.21 For example, the 

Marine Corps’ checklist provided casualty assistance officers with 

instructions for notification procedures, funeral arrangements, personal 

effects, and financial benefits discussions. In contrast, the Army’s 

checklist requires casualty assistance officers to arrange for survivors to 

meet with legal services and VA representatives, while at the other 

services’ installations we visited the checklists did not require casualty 

assistance officers to make appointments with these offices. Although 

some of these differences may be explained by most services having a 

single casualty assistance officer to coordinate all help provided to a 

survivor and the other services dividing the assistance duties among 

different personnel, the absence of a DOD-wide checklist with required 

steps could potentially result in inconsistent assistance being offered to 

some survivors. The Army, through the U.S. Military Academy, is in the 

testing phase of developing software aimed at helping to standardize the 

assistance given by casualty assistance officers. Among other things, it 

will automatically complete all applicable financial benefits forms once 

certain data are put into the system.

• There is no DOD-wide guidance for the timing for completing or 

updating a servicemember’s Record of Emergency Data form (DD 

Form 93). Among other things, the information on this form is the 

official record of the beneficiaries designated to receive the death 

gratuity payment and unpaid pay and allowances. It also contains the 

name and address of the person(s) to be notified in the event of a death. 

Currently, the form is completed and updated at the discretion of the 

services. Service officials told us that all servicemembers are to 

complete and update information, including prior to any deployment. 

Even though updating of the information is part of the process before 

deployment, installation officials told us that some servicemembers do 

not make the needed changes because of a perceived inconvenience 

associated with updating the form or not understanding the importance 

of the information contained in the form. Not having up-to-date 

21Currently, the services’ checklists incorporate some timeliness measures. For example, the 

Army has a column for the date that actions were completed. However, delays in the process 

may be due to factors outside the casualty assistance officer’s control, such as the survivor’s 

desire to delay some decisions or line-of-duty determinations. 
Page 17 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

information could, among other things, delay notification of the next of 

kin in the event of an injury or death and result in financial benefits 

being distributed in whole or part to people that the servicemember may 

not have preferred.

In addition to the potential for inconsistencies in the delivery of short-term 

assistance, DOD’s current casualty assistance policy does not describe the 

types of long-term casualty assistance that the services may provide to the 

survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty. Long-term 

benefits to survivors include annuities that may be paid throughout an 

eligible survivor’s lifetime, medical and dental insurance, and the use of 

installation services like the commissary and exchange. Assisting survivors 

with their long-term concerns about accessing these benefits differs among 

the services, ranging from proactive outreach and actions to responding to 

survivors’ requests for assistance. The Army recently established a call 

center to assist survivors, and this call center is to become a long-term case 

management center by winter 2006. Similarly, the Marine Corps recently 

established a single long-term case manager for all Marine Corps survivors. 

The Marine Corps casualty assistance officer and case manager begin to 

transition survivors to the case manager about 60 days after a 

servicemember’s death, and this long-term case manager is subsequently 

available to address a survivor’s needs indefinitely. In contrast, the Air 

Force and Navy do not currently have a centralized, formal long-term 

assistance program, but representatives of those services are available to 

answer survivors’ questions or provide requested assistance. The absence 

of departmentwide long-term casualty assistance requirements may be one 

reason why DOD does not track the use of some types of assistance or 

benefits. The draft revision of DOD’s casualty assistance policy calls for the 

establishment of centralized short- and long-term case management 

procedures and the development of a common survey for survivors and 

casualty assistance officers.

No Standard Procedures for 

Coordination between the 

Military Services and DFAS

Current DOD casualty assistance policy does not set forth standard 

procedures for coordination between the services and DFAS in the 

provision of unpaid pay and allowances to survivors of servicemembers 

who die while on active duty. Specifically, DFAS has been mailing checks to 

survivors without explanations for why the money is being disbursed and 

later mailing a statement informing the survivors that they have received a 

check for unpaid pay and allowances. DFAS’s primary guidance for
Page 18 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

compensation administration is DOD’s Financial Management Regulation.22

A separate DFAS branch handles the payments for each of the services and 

is responsible for developing procedures for the settlement process.

The limited coordination between officials at DFAS and DOD’s and the 

services’ casualty assistance offices on these pay matters has resulted in 

confusion and uncertainty about whether survivors received all of the 

money to which they were entitled since they have not routinely been 

supplied with an itemized statement separately listing each pay, allowance, 

and debt owed to the service (e.g., from a government charge card). 

Underpayment of the money owed to the deceased servicemembers would 

deprive survivors of money to which they were rightfully entitled, and 

overpayment could result in efforts to subsequently recover the excess 

compensation. This is a concern because we recently reported on similar 

pay problems for injured servicemembers who continued to receive hostile 

fire and hardship duty pays after they were no longer entitled to such pays 

and were told to return the overpayments.23 Another coordination problem 

exists between DFAS personnel and casualty assistance officers. The 

casualty assistance officers told us that they did not have specific points of 

contact at DFAS to facilitate the processing for benefit application forms 

that have to be faxed to DFAS because the agency does not accept 

electronic signatures sent via computer. In some instances, casualty 

assistance officers told us that DFAS officials had called them about 

missing forms that they had already faxed. According to service officials, 

the current inability of DFAS and casualty assistance personnel to promptly 

identify one another has resulted in instances of delayed claim processing 

as well as continued survivors’ concerns about whether the check for 

unpaid pay and allowances was for the correct amount.

These coordination problems may be alleviated in the future. DOD and 

service casualty assistance program officials stated that they have initiated 

meetings with DFAS to address these problems, and DFAS has agreed to 

take steps to address some of the issues raised by DOD. For example, Army 

DFAS recently established a casualty settlement office as a point of contact 

for Army casualty assistance officers in assisting survivors. In addition, 

DFAS officials stated that each service-specific branch of DFAS has agreed 

22Department of Defense, Financial Management Regulation, 7000.14-R, vol. 7A, ch. 36. 

23GAO, Military Pay: Inadequate Controls for Stopping Overpayments of Hostile Fire and 

Hardship Duty Pay to Over 200 Sick or Injured Army National Guard and Army Reserve 

Soldiers Assigned to Fort Bragg, GAO-06-384R (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 27, 2006).
Page 19 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

to provide survivors with an itemized explanation of payments made. 

Another aspect of this problem, however, remains unaddressed. DFAS 

officials indicated that the statement will still arrive after the survivor 

receives the check for payment.

DOD Does Not Provide an 

Integrated Benefits Statement to 

Survivors

DOD’s current casualty assistance policy does not require that DOD or the 

services provide the survivors of military servicemembers with a 

comprehensive, integrated statement of federal monetary benefits. DOD, 

VA, and SSA administer an array of monetary survivor benefits in the form 

of lump sum cash payments or annuities and other entitlements, such as 

health insurance.24 Service officials told us that an integrated statement is 

needed to improve survivors’ understanding of these benefits. Moreover, 

the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 requires that 

by December 1, 2006, DOD provide to Congress a plan to provide a system 

with personalized and integrated information on benefits and financial 

assistance available to survivors.

Currently, each service’s emergency aid or relief society offers to purchase 

from a for-profit company a comprehensive, integrated statement of 

benefits for all surviving spouses of servicemembers who die while on 

active duty. This statement currently costs the Army and Air Force relief 

and aid societies $595 per surviving spouse who accepts this assistance.25

Since 2004, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society purchased a onetime 

statement of benefits for all survivors, which currently cost $200 per 

surviving spouse. In addition, 36 percent of Marine Corps and 65 percent of 

Navy survivors accepted a lifetime membership with the company, which 

currently cost the relief society an additional $395, bringing the total cost to 

$595 per spouse. During our interviews, some of the casualty assistance 

officers said they were unaware of the availability of this statement.

In fiscal year 2004, Congress provided the Army with $3.5 million to 

develop or acquire a system that would produce a comprehensive, 

integrated statement of benefits. The Army plans to introduce a Web-based 

system to the survivors of deceased Army servicemembers in fall 2006. 

24Some benefits shown in apps. I and II vary according to marital status, family size, the ages 

of the surviving spouse and children, and other factors.

25The for-profit company provides two different products: a onetime comprehensive, 

integrated statement of benefits or a lifetime membership to the company that provides the 

initial benefits statement and continuing statements and other benefits, such as updates on 

relevant legislative changes. 
Page 20 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Army representatives told us that this analysis is important because 

benefits are not currently organized by DOD in a single, comprehensive, 

easily understandable, and easily accessible location. Furthermore, a DODprovided statement is important because not all eligible survivors choose 

to accept or are told about the statement provided by the emergency aid 

and relief societies. The prototype Army system that we reviewed 

contained personalized benefits information, including a benefits 

calculator that reflects the potential changes in benefits throughout the 

survivor’s lifetime. The statement from the Army system is similar to the 

statement currently provided by the for-profit company. Appendix IV 

contains a sample statement from the Army’s prototype system. According 

to Army officials, there are no formal plans for the Army’s Web-based 

system to become a DOD-wide program. Failure to expand the Army 

system for use by all the services or otherwise offer a similar benefit to the 

survivors whose deceased servicemembers served in other services might 

result in inconsistent assistance for survivors, particularly if the relief and 

aid societies for the other services were unable to continue purchasing the 

benefits statements from the for-profit company.

Survivors we interviewed stated that some of the benefits are complex and 

can be difficult to understand. For example, a survivor who is eligible to 

receive DOD’s Survivor Benefit Plan and VA’s Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation does not receive the full amount of both benefits. Rather, 

the payments from the taxable Survivor Benefit Plan are reduced on a 

dollar-for-dollar basis by any nontaxed Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation benefits received. In order to avoid this offset, surviving 

spouses who continue to care for the children of deceased active duty 

servicemembers are allowed to select the Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation benefits for themselves and to designate their children as 

recipients of the Survivor Benefit Plan.26 The decision about which of the 

annuity benefits that the surviving spouse will select is irrevocable. Some 

of the survivors that we interviewed told us that in retrospect they question 

having to make this irrevocable decision early in their grieving process. A 

statement similar to the one provided by the for-profit company would 

allow survivors to anticipate the estimated values for their immediate 

financial benefits as well as changes in their cash benefits over time.

26Specifically, surviving children are eligible to receive payments from the Survivor Benefit 

Plan until they reach age 18 or 22, depending on factors such as whether they are married or 

in school, or for life if mentally or physically incapacitated. Eligibility for the surviving 

spouse terminates if the spouse remarries prior to age 55. 
Page 21 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

DOD Has Limited 

Visibility over Casualty 

Assistance Programs’ 

Costs

DOD does not know the total costs of its casualty assistance programs 

because it does not have visibility over all program costs.27 This limited 

visibility over casualty assistance program costs exists for two primary 

reasons: (1) the costs of cash and noncash benefits as well as the costs for 

program operations are scattered across many different parts of DOD’s 

budget and (2) costs of benefits provided to the survivors of active duty 

servicemembers are lumped together with those for military retirees and 

their survivors. Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards No. 4 

recommends the reporting of the full costs of outputs. The full cost of an 

output produced by a program is the sum of (1) the costs of resources 

consumed by the program that directly or indirectly contribute to the 

carrying out of that program and (2) the costs of identifiable supporting 

services provided by other areas within the agency. Federal accounting 

standards are aimed at providing relevant and reliable cost information to 

assist Congress and program officials in making decisions about allocating 

federal resources.28 In our July 2005 report on the transparency of the 

military compensation system, we recommended that DOD compile the 

total costs to provide military compensation and communicate them to 

decision makers perhaps as part of its annual budget submission to 

Congress. Casualty assistance benefits are another type of cost that could 

be included as part of total compensation costs. Because we recommended 

that DOD compile total compensation costs in our July 2005 report, we are 

not making that recommendation here.

Costs for casualty assistance programs are found in many different parts of 

DOD’s budget, such as military personnel and operation and maintenance. 

For example, the cost for the death gratuity is found in the military 

personnel budget, while mortuary affairs costs are found in the operations 

and maintenance budget. Casualty assistance costs are also spread 

27Pub. L. No. 109-163 § 666 required GAO to report on the actuarial soundness of the 

Survivor Benefit Plan program, including an assessment of the implications for the actuarial 

soundness of the program resulting from recent improvements to that program, the 

implications for government contributions and payments to the program, and the enactment 

of a law permitting participants to designate an insurable interest beneficiary if a previously 

designated beneficiary dies. Our report was issued on July 26, 2006. See GAO, Financial 

Management: Implications of Significant Recent and Potential Changes for the Actuarial 

Soundness of the Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan Program, GAO-06-837R

(Washington, D.C.: July 26, 2006). 

28Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards No. 4, Managerial Cost Accounting 

Standards, requires agencies to report the full cost of their programs in their general 

purpose financial reports.
Page 22 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

throughout the various levels of DOD, including service headquarters and 

individual installations. For example, the services allocate operation and 

maintenance funds to individual installations to operate aspects of their 

casualty assistance programs. To calculate operations costs for its casualty 

assistance program, each service would have to gather data about its 

casualty assistance cost from individual installations. Also, other casualty 

assistance costs are in DOD-wide budgets like those for the health program 

and the commissary. Furthermore, some casualty assistance benefits, like 

health care, result in costs that will be part of future years’ budgets since 

they can continue throughout the survivor’s lifetime. Finally, casualty 

assistance funding is paid out of annual and supplemental appropriations. 

For example, the retroactive increase in the amount of the death gratuity 

payment was included in supplemental budgets.

The second general type of problem in determining the total cost of the 

casualty program is that the costs of benefits provided to the survivors of 

active duty servicemembers and military retirees are lumped together in 

the budgets. DOD does not maintain data that distinguish between the 

costs of benefits provided to these two groups of survivors. The costs of 

the Survivor Benefit Plan and funeral honors details are two such benefits 

for which DOD cannot easily determine how much of the costs are for 

active duty servicemembers’ survivors and retirees’ survivors. The need to 

provide for benefits for both groups of survivors as well as the funding 

across multiple budgets hampers DOD from determining how much is 

specifically spent on benefits and assistance to survivors of 

servicemembers who die while on active duty.

According to DOD officials, survivor groups, and survivors whom we 

interviewed, all major benefits have been paid to survivors. Although the 

costs of the casualty assistance programs and associated benefits for 

survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty represent a 

small portion of DOD’s overall budget, the limited visibility over costs 

makes it is difficult for decision makers to arrive at informed decisions 

regarding DOD’s casualty assistance programs. These types of decisions 

might be related to short- and long-term costs of funding the benefit 

programs, as well as the onetime and continuing costs of any changes to a 

program.
Page 23 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

VA and SSA Primarily 

Provide Survivors with 

Long-term Benefits

VA and SSA also administer benefits that provide financial and nonfinancial 

assistance to survivors, starting almost immediately after the death of 

active duty servicemembers, and some assistance may continue 

throughout the survivors’ lifetimes. Specifically, VA administers two of the 

largest cash benefits available to survivors: the Servicemember’s Group 

Life Insurance program, government-backed life insurance for military 

personnel that is available for up to $400,000, and Dependency Indemnity 

Compensation, long-term monthly payments to eligible surviving spouses 

and children. In addition, VA may provide other benefits—such as 

bereavement counseling, education assistance, and guaranteed home 

loans—to eligible survivors. SSA’s major benefit to survivors of 

servicemembers who die while on active duty is the monthly payments that 

the federal government also administers to survivors of civilians. See 

appendix II for a detailed description of survivor benefits administered by 

VA and SSA.

Since the onset of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, VA 

and SSA established, in coordination with DOD, policies and procedures 

that were designed to expedite benefit payments to survivors of 

servicemembers regardless of where death occurs and whether it was noncombat related.29 These policies allow DOD’s casualty assistance officers or 

the survivors to contact VA and SSA to initiate the expedited application 

procedures and typically start receipt of benefits within a few days. The 

expedited claims process for VA requires survivors to provide a single form 

to claim all eligible benefits, rather than the multiple forms that were 

required prior to September 11, 2001. When asked how satisfied casualty 

assistance officers were with the services of several organizations after the 

September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon, officers chose VA as 

the second most helpful organization in providing assistance to survivors.30

The expedited claims process for SSA provides survivors and casualty 

assistance officers with a toll-free number to an office specifically 

designated to process expedited Social Security benefit claims for 

survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty. When SSA’s 

29SSA initially established expedited claims procedures for the survivors of servicemembers 

who died as the result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. After the beginning of 

Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, DOD contacted SSA to request that 

similar procedures be established for all survivors of deceased servicemembers. 

30Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and 

Readiness, Pentagon Family Assistance Center After Action Report (Arlington, Va.: March 

2003).
Page 24 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

expedited procedures were pilot tested prior to their January 2004 

implementation, the results showed that claims processing time dropped 

from several weeks to an average of just over 2 days.

Like DOD, neither VA nor SSA has visibility over (1) the extent to which 

survivors of servicemembers who die on active duty utilize benefits or

(2) the overall costs involved in providing these benefits. This is partially 

because neither agency has policies or procedures that require the separate 

gathering of data on benefits provided to the subgroup of recipients who 

are survivors of active duty servicemembers who die while on active duty. 

This subgroup represents a small portion of (1) all the veterans who are 

entitled to each type of VA benefit and (2) those in the civilian population 

who are eligible for the SSA annuity and onetime payment of $255. 

Decision makers’ ability to make informed decisions about whether the 

types or amounts of short- and long-term assistance should be changed 

could be limited because of the absence of data on the participation rates 

and costs of casualty assistance provided to survivors of servicmembers 

who die while on active duty.

Conclusions The casualty assistance that the federal government provides to the 

survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty is an 

acknowledgment of the supreme sacrifice of the deceased military 

personnel. While each military service has established its own casualty 

assistance program to help eligible survivors access various types of 

financial and nonfinancial support, variations in the procedures used to 

administer the programs could lead to inconsistent support being offered 

across the military services, as well as across installations within the 

services. DOD’s current casualty assistance program policies do not 

prescribe a comprehensive, departmentwide oversight framework that 

includes performance or outcome measures and reporting requirements. 

Similarly, DOD’s current policy does not prescribe key standards of 

assistance due all survivors of servicemembers who die while on active 

duty. These deficiencies in DOD’s casualty assistance policy not only limit 

the department’s ability to monitor the services’ casualty assistance 

programs for a consistent level of assistance to all survivors, they also limit 

the ability of decision makers—both in Congress and at DOD—to make 

informed, data-driven decisions about the oversight of the casualty 

assistance programs.

DOD’s draft revision of its primary casualty assistance policy has begun to 

partially address some of the concerns identified in this report and the 
Page 25 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

congressional mandate for greater consistency in the delivery of casualty 

assistance. Because the policy has not yet been finalized, it offers both 

uncertainty and opportunity. There is uncertainty about how these 

concerns will be addressed and how the changes will be implemented to 

help ensure that survivors are provided optimal assistance. The fact that 

the policy is still being drafted offers an opportunity to develop a policy 

that fully addresses the congressional mandate and the concerns we 

highlight in this report. Moreover, because DOD does not have visibility 

over the costs of its casualty assistance programs, it is difficult for program 

officials to make informed decisions about current and future changes to 

the program. In our July 2005 report on the transparency of the military 

compensation system, we recommended that DOD compile the total costs 

to provide military compensation and communicate them to decision 

makers. Casualty assistance benefits are another example of what could be 

included as part of DOD’s total compensation costs.

Recommendations for 

Executive Action

To improve DOD’s ability to effectively manage its casualty assistance 

programs, we recommend that the Secretary of Defense direct the Under 

Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to take the following two 

actions:

• Develop an oversight framework that includes

• measurable DOD-wide objectives for casualty assistance programs;

• DOD-wide outcome measures to evaluate aspects of its programs, 

such as survivors’ satisfaction with assistance they received from 

casualty assistance officers, and clearly link program performance 

with these objectives; and

• requirements for the services to report on these outcome measures 

so that DOD can use the reports to monitor the casualty assistance 

programs’ performance and make fact-based decisions about the 

program operations and resources.

• Incorporate standards, such as a comprehensive checklist of duties for 

casualty assistance officers, when revising its casualty assistance policy.
Page 26 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Agency Comments On August 11, 2006, we provided a draft of this report to DOD, the 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), 

SSA, and VA for review and comment. All five agencies provided technical 

comments on this report or indicated that they had no comments; we 

incorporated their comments as appropriate. DOD did not provide its 

formal comments in time to be included in this report.

We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional 

committees and the Secretary of Defense. We will also make copies 

available to others upon request. This report is also available at no charge 

on GAO’s Web site at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions regarding this report, please contact 

me at (202) 512-5559 or stewartd@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of 

Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page 

of this report. Other staff members who made key contributions to this 

report are listed in appendix V.

Derek B. Stewart

Director, Defense Capabilities and Management
Page 27 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Appendix I

Survivor Benefits Administered by the Apendxies

Department of Defense ApendxiI

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description

Burial/memorial/

funeral costs 

Depends on 

the option 

the next of 

kin selects

No No The family may be 

reimbursed up to $7,700. 

The family has five options for funeral 

arrangements, which range from the 

Department of Defense coordinating all of the 

arrangements and paying for all of the costs to 

the family making all of the arrangements and 

receiving a maximum reimbursement of $7,700 

from DOD. If the family chooses to have DOD 

make the arrangements and pay for the funeral 

costs, DOD will pay for (1) primary burial 

expenses—casket and preparation of body;

(2) secondary burial expenses—internment in a 

private cemetery or national cemetery, funeral 

flowers, and travel to burial service for next of 

kin; and (3) transportation to cemetery. 

Death gratuity Cash No No $100,000 A onetime cash payment to assist survivors in 

meeting their financial needs during the period 

immediately following the servicemember’s 

death and before other survivor benefits, if any, 

become available. 

Dental Noncash N/A N/A N/A If enrolled in dental insurance at the time of the 

servicemember’s death, the surviving spouse 

and children are eligible to receive up to 3 years 

of dental insurance at active duty dependent 

rates. If not enrolled in dental insurance, the 

spouse can enroll the family in the Retired 

Dental Program and receive coverage at the 

retiree rate. 

Household goods 

move

Noncash N/A N/A N/A One move from the survivor’s current location is 

provided at no expense to the survivor. 

Housing Cash or 

noncash

No Yes The value of this benefit 

depends on the 

servicemember’s pay 

grade and last duty 

station.

Survivors receive cash payment equal to 12 

times the monthly basic allowance for housing. 

If the family members reside in base housing, 

they may (1) stay there up to 12 months rent 

free or (2) move earlier and receive the 

applicable monthly basic allowance for housing 

for the remaining months.
Appendix I

Survivor Benefits Administered by the 

Department of Defense

Page 28 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Medical Noncash N/A N/A N/A Surviving spouses who do not remarry remain 

eligible for military health care benefits for 3 

years at the active duty dependent rates, with 

no enrollment fees. At the end of the 3 years, 

health care eligibility continues, but at the 

retiree dependent rates. Surviving spouses 

remain eligible for health care throughout their 

lives if they do not remarry. Surviving, 

unmarried dependents remain eligible for 

health care until age 21, or until age 23 if they 

are full-time students.

Military community 

privileges

Noncash N/A N/A N/A Surviving family may continue to use the 

commissary; exchange; and morale, welfare, 

and recreation facilities under the same 

qualifying criteria that would otherwise apply if 

the servicemember were retired.

Service academy 

preference

Noncash N/A N/A N/A Children of servicemembers who die on active 

duty (or are missing in action or who die as a 

result of a 100 percent disability) receive 

academy preference for appointment in order of 

merit by competitive examination. 

Survivors Benefit 

Plan

Cash Yes Yes The amount varies 

depending on (1) whether 

the servicemember was 

eligible to retire, (2) the 

age of the survivor, (3) the 

servicemember’s basic 

pay, and (4) when the 

servicemember entered 

the military.

Eligible surviving spouses of servicemembers 

who died while on active duty after September 

9, 2001, are provided an annuity. This annuity 

for non-retirement-eligible servicemembers is 

determined by assuming the individual would 

have been eligible to retire with a total (100 

percent) disability at the time of death. For an 

active duty servicemember who had been 

eligible to retire, the Survivor Benefit Plan is 

computed at 55 percent of the retired pay the 

member would have been eligible to receive 

had he/she retired at the time of death.

When a survivor is eligible to receive both the 

Survivor Benefit Plan and the Department of 

Veterans Affairs’ Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation, he/she does not receive the full 

amount of both benefits. Rather, the Survivor 

Benefit Plan is reduced on a dollar-for-dollar 

basis by any Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation benefits received. In order to 

avoid this offset, surviving spouses of active 

duty servicemembers are allowed to designate 

their children as the recipients of the Survivor 

Benefit Plan. Surviving children are eligible to 

receive payments from the Survivor Benefit 

Plan until they reach age 18 or 22 or for life if 

mentally or physically incapacitated. Eligibility 

terminates if the child marries or the surviving 

spouse remarries prior to age 55.

(Continued From Previous Page)

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description
Appendix I

Survivor Benefits Administered by the 

Department of Defense

Page 29 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Source: GAO analysis of DOD information.

Note: Eligible survivors of deceased U.S. Coast Guard servicemembers obtain these benefits directly 

through the Coast Guard and in other cases through DOD—such as military community privileges and 

health care.

Unpaid pay and 

allowances

Cash Varies Yes Varies This includes basic pay, unused leave, special 

pays and bonuses, and other allowances owed 

to the servicemember at the time of his/her 

death. 

(Continued From Previous Page)

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description
Page 30 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Appendix II

Survivor Benefits Administered by Federal 

Agencies Other Than DOD ApendxiI

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Bereavement 

counseling

Noncash N/A N/A N/A Counseling services are available to surviving 

parents, spouses, children, and siblings of 

servicemembers who die while on active duty. Since 

it was initiated in 2003, 924 family members have 

been served at 207 community-based veteran 

centers located across the nation. These services 

are provided at no cost and include counseling, 

outreach, and referral.

Burial in national 

cemetery 

Noncash N/A N/A N/A Servicemembers may be buried in one of 123 

national cemeteries operated by VA at no cost to 

the survivor.

Dependency and 

Indemnity 

Compensation

Cash No Yes The benefit is $1,033 

per month for the 

surviving spouse and 

$257 per month for 

each child. Plus, 

children under age 18 

receive an additional 

$250 per month for 2 

years.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is a 

monthly cash annuity paid to eligible survivors. 

Those eligible to apply include surviving spouses, 

surviving children, and surviving parents. 

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is 

integrated with DOD’s Survivor Benefit Plan. In 

other words, payment received via Dependency and 

Indemnity Compensation brings about a dollar-fordollar reduction in the Survivor Benefit Plan. 

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits 

can also be terminated as a result of remarriage by 

the surviving spouse unless the spouse is over age 

57 at the time of remarriage. 

Education program 

refunds

Cash No No The Montgomery G.I. 

Bill refund will be equal 

to the participant’s 

actual military pay 

reduction, less any 

education benefits 

paid.

The deceased servicemember must either have 

been entitled to educational assistance under the 

Montgomery G.I. Bill program or a participant in the 

program who would have been so entitled but for 

the high school diploma or length of service 

requirement. Survivors are also entitled to receive 

contributions that were made to the Veterans 

Education Assistance Program.

Guaranteed Home 

Loan Program

Noncash N/A N/A N/A Surviving spouses may be eligible for a VAguaranteed home loan from a private lender. The 

loan may be used to purchase, construct, or 

improve a home; to refinance an existing mortgage; 

or for certain other purposes. There is no time limit 

for using the VA home loan.

Headstone or 

grave marker

Noncash N/A N/A N/A VA will provide a headstone or marker for a 

servicemember who is buried in one of the national 

cemeteries or in a private cemetery. If buried in a 

national cemetery, the style chosen must be 

consistent with markers at that cemetery.
Appendix II

Survivor Benefits Administered by Federal 

Agencies Other Than DOD

Page 31 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Other educational 

assistance

Cash and 

noncash 

N/A N/A N/A Other related educational benefits are available, 

including special benefits for children with 

disabilities, work-study employment, educational 

counseling services, and tutorial assistance.

Presidential 

memorial 

certificate program 

Noncash N/A N/A N/A A servicemember’s next of kin can receive a 

Presidential Memorial Certificate. The certificate is 

embossed paper inscribed with the 

servicemember’s name and bears the President’s 

signature. It expresses the nation’s gratitude for the 

servicemember’s service in the armed forces. 

Additional certificates for other loved ones, such as 

parents of servicemembers who are married, are 

available upon request to VA.

Servicemembers’ 

Group Life 

Insurance 

Cash No No Coverage is available in 

$50,000 increments up 

to $400,000.

All members of the uniformed services are 

automatically insured for the maximum coverage 

under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. 

The cost of this overage is $0.65 per $10,000 of 

coverage per month. Servicemembers can decline 

coverage entirely or opt for less than the maximum 

coverage. As of June 2006, about 99 percent of 

active duty and about 94 percent of reservists had 

some coverage under the Servicemembers’ Group 

Life Insurance, while about 93 percent of 

servicemembers elected the full $400,000 

coverage. Beneficiaries with coverage are eligible 

for financial counseling services that provide them 

with personalized services, such as financial plans 

tailored to their situation.

Survivors’ and 

Dependents’ 

Education 

Assistance

Cash No The current rate is 

$827 a month for a 

maximum of 45 

months. 

Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance 

provides education and training opportunities to 

eligible surviving spouses and children. These 

benefits may be used for degree and certificate 

programs, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and 

correspondence courses. In some instances, 

remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be 

approved. The surviving spouse’s eligibility for this 

benefit ends if he/she is remarried before age 57, 

but is reinstated if the remarriage ends either by 

death or divorce. Surviving children may receive the 

benefit from ages 18 through 26.

(Continued From Previous Page)

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description
Appendix II

Survivor Benefits Administered by Federal 

Agencies Other Than DOD

Page 32 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Social security 

benefits 

Cash Yesa Yesb The amount of this 

benefit depends on the 

decedent’s 

contributions; the age 

of the decedent at time 

of death; whether the 

decedent received any 

Social Security benefits 

before death; the age 

of the surviving 

spouse, parent, or 

child; whether the 

surviving spouse has 

dependent children of 

the decedent under the 

age of 16 in his/her 

care; and how many 

survivors are receiving 

benefits on the 

account.

Social Security benefits are cash annuities received 

by survivors (including surviving spouses, children, 

and parents). Although these benefits are not 

unique for military servicemembers’ survivors, SSA 

adopted a process designed to expedite payment of 

these benefits to military survivors. In most cases, 

claims under this procedure will be processed for 

payment within 48 hours. A toll-free telephone 

number was established to handle these claims 

(although all field office staff are also equipped to 

handle claims from survivors who come into their 

offices). The claims process is started when SSA 

receives a notice of death form, with a verbal report 

of death from a military casualty assistance officer, 

or when contacted by a survivor. The Philadelphia 

region has also established a process to analyze 

the list of DOD Forms 1300, which is the report of a 

casualty, and compare it to the survivors’ claims 

adjudicated. If a form 1300 is received with an 

indication of a lead for survivors claim(s) not filed, 

SSA contacts the appropriate service. If the 

application was handled through the toll-free 

telephone number unit, then SSA will send a claims 

package to the survivor that includes the 

application(s) for signature (if the information was 

initially received from a casualty assistance officer), 

a cover letter detailing what documentary evidence 

is required, and how to return it to SSA. To expedite 

the processing, payment is effected immediately if 

enough information was provided during the initial 

interview. In those situations, the survivor and the 

casualty assistance officer are advised that missing 

information or evidence must be provided as soon 

as possible.c

Social Security 

Death Payment

Cash No No $255 Special onetime lump sum death payments may be 

available under certain circumstances to the spouse 

or minor children.

(Continued From Previous Page)

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description
Appendix II

Survivor Benefits Administered by Federal 

Agencies Other Than DOD

Page 33 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Source: GAO analysis of VA, SSA, and DOL information.

a

Depending on the individual’s adjusted gross income, up to 85 percent of Social Security income is 

taxable.

b

Social Security benefit receives annual cost of living adjustment.

c

If the required information and evidence are not received within 90 days of that notification, a follow-up 

is done with the survivor and the casualty assistance officer. If the requested information is not 

received within an additional 30 days, a second follow-up is sent to the survivor with a copy to the 

casualty assistance officer advising that benefits may be suspended if the information is not received 

by SSA within 30 days of the notice, which would be a total of 150 days after the initial application was 

filed.

Department of Labor (DOL)

Employment 

assistance 

Noncash N/A N/A N/A Surviving spouses are “preference eligible” for 

training programs and direct employment 

assistance.

(Continued From Previous Page)

Benefit

Cash/

noncash

Taxable

benefit

Adjusted

annually Dollar amount Description
Page 34 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Appendix III

Scope and Methodology ApendxiI

In conducting this review, we limited our scope to federal programs and the 

benefits and assistance provided to the survivors of servicemembers who 

die while on active duty. Therefore, we did not address state-provided 

benefits for survivors of deceased National Guard members and benefits, 

such as laptop computers or scholarship funds, which are often provided 

by nonprofits and other organizations. We also did not address the casualty 

assistance and benefits provided to ill or injured servicemembers and their 

families, with the exception of those servicemembers who later die of their 

illness or injury.

To determine the extent to which DOD has an oversight framework and 

standards in place to monitor the casualty assistance it provides to 

survivors of servicemembers who die while on active duty, we gathered and 

analyzed various documents, including current and draft casualty 

assistance program policies; procedures; training manuals; the 

Government Performance and Results Act of 1993; and statements from 

survivors, advocacy groups, and other relevant parties. We interviewed 

policy and program officials from DOD’s Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Personnel and Readiness (primarily the Office of Military 

Community and Family Policy); Army Human Resources Command, 

Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operation Center; Navy Personnel 

Command, Casualty Assistance Division and Navy Installations Command; 

Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Casualty and Assistance 

Section; Air Force Personnel Center, Casualty Matters Division and Air 

Force Mortuary Affairs; National Guard Bureau; and the Defense Finance 

and Accounting Service office for each DOD service. We also conducted 

site visits at 10 installations (see table 2). We selected these installations, in 

coordination with service officials, because these installations assisted 

higher numbers of survivors compared to other installations. During the 

site visits, we met with some or all of the following types of personnel: 

installation leaders; officials responsible for directing or implementing the 

installation’s casualty assistance program; casualty assistance officers 

(both officers and senior enlisted personnel); mortuary affairs 

representatives; chaplains; attorneys in the Judge Advocate Corps; staff 

from morale, recreation, and welfare; installation housing personnel; 

TRICARE staff; and finance officials. Other individuals whom we 

interviewed at multiple installations included survivors of servicemembers 

who had died while on active duty and VA representatives. We compared 

and contrasted information extracted from the previously cited 

documentary and testimonial evidence and identified similarities and 

differences in the ways in which the services and installations implemented 

their casualty assistance programs, as well as issues such as reporting 
Appendix III

Scope and Methodology

Page 35 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

relationships, staffing, and the steps used to monitor the assistance 

provided to survivors. We similarly reviewed the casualty assistance 

policies and procedures of the U.S. Coast Guard, which is part of the 

Department of Homeland Security, and interviewed Coast Guard program 

managers. In addition, we met with and obtained additional information 

from advocacy groups that included Gold Star Wives; the National 

Association for Uniformed Services; the National Military Family 

Association; and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. Other 

information was obtained during meetings with the relief or emergency aid 

society for each of the DOD services and the for-profit company that sells 

the comprehensive statements of benefits to the societies.

Table 2: Installations in the United States and Germany Where GAO Conducted Site 

Visits from January through July 2006

Source: GAO.

a

The Army is the executive agent for mortuary affairs and has an overseas location at Landstuhl 

Regional Medical Center, in the European Command. Similarly, Dover Air Force Base hosts the Dover 

Port Mortuary, which receives the remains of servicemembers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan as 

well as remains of mass casualties (e.g., from military training accidents) in the United States.

To determine the extent to which DOD and the services have visibility over 

the costs of casualty assistance programs, we analyzed budget documents 

from fiscal years 2000 through 2005 for DOD, the Army, the Navy, the 

Marine Corps, the and Air Force. We also interviewed budget officials at the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management, 

Comptroller Army; Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for 

Financial Management, Comptroller Navy; Office of the Assistant 

Commandant of the Marine Corps, Personnel Funding Marine Corps; and 

Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary Budget, Directorate of Budget 

Service Installation

Army Fort Hood, Texas

Fort Stewart, Georgia

1st Personnel Command, Schwetzingen, Germany

U.S. Army Garrison, Baumholder, Germany

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germanya 

Navy Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida

Marine Corps Camp Pendleton, California

Air Force Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Dover Port Mortuary, Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Delawarea
Appendix III

Scope and Methodology

Page 36 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Operations Air Force, as well as some financial offices at the installations 

we visited. Casualty assistance program staff at the installations that we 

visited provided additional information on the costs related to the 

operation of their programs. While they were unable to quantify the dollar 

costs of their operations, they were able to identify some of the items that 

would need to be accounted for to arrive at the total costs of casualty 

assistance. These items included personnel assigned to the casualty 

assistance program, development and delivery of training for casualty 

assistance, casualty assistance officers’ time and expenses when 

performing their duties, and personnel and transportation costs for funeral 

honors details.

To review the roles of VA and SSA in providing casualty assistance to 

survivors of servicemembers who die on active duty, we analyzed 

documents from and interviewed officials representing those two federal 

agencies. Our VA contacts included officials from the Office of Budget; the 

Office of Policy and Programs; the Veterans Benefits Administration, 

including the Compensation and Pension Service; the National Cemetery 

Administration, including the Policy and Planning Service; and the Veterans 

Health Administration, including the Readjustment Counseling Service. At 

stateside DOD installations where we conducted site visits, we also met 

with local VA representatives who assisted survivors and their casualty 

assistance officers in briefing the survivors about VA-administered 

benefits, completing applications for benefits, and answering questions. We 

interviewed officials from the private sector insurance company that offers 

the VA-administered Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. In addition, 

we analyzed VA’s budget documents for fiscal years 2000 through 2005. Our 

SSA contacts included officials from the Division of Operations Analysis 

and Customer Service. For both VA and SSA, we requested documentary 

evidence that included program policies, sample correspondences, and 

evaluations of their procedures to expedite claims processing for the 

survivors. We compared and contrasted information extracted from the 

previously cited documentary and testimonial evidence and identified 

similarities and differences in the ways in which VA and SSA implemented 

their casualty assistance programs, as well as issues such as reporting 

relationships, staffing, and the steps used to monitor the assistance 

provided to survivors. Additional information about the agencies’ programs 

came from interviews with the survivors of servicemembers who died 

while on active duty, casualty assistance officers, and staff from 

installation-level casualty assistance offices.
Appendix III

Scope and Methodology

Page 37 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

We performed our work from January 2006 through August 2006 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Page 38 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Appendix IV

Example of the Prototype Output from the 

Army’s Web-Based Benefits Statement for 

Survivors ApendxiIV
Appendix IV

Example of the Prototype Output from the 

Army’s Web-Based Benefits Statement for 

Survivors

Page 39 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Source: Army, Human Resources Policy Directorate.
Page 40 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Appendix V

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments ApendxiV

GAO Contact Derek Stewart, (202) 512-5559 or stewartd@gao.gov

Acknowledgments In addition to the contact named above, Jack Edwards, Assistant Director; 

Lori Atkinson; Alissa Czyz; LaShawnda Lindsey; Julia Matta; Maewanda 

Michael-Jackson; Kenneth Patton; Charles Perdue; Terry Richardson; 

Suzanne Perkins Sapp; and Sonja Ware made key contributions to this 

report.
Page 41 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Related GAO Products

Financial Management: Implications of Significant Recent and Potential 

Changes for the Actuarial Soundness of the Department of Defense 

Survivor Benefit Plan Program. GAO-06-837R. Washington, D.C.: July 26, 

2006.

Military Pay: Hundreds of Battle-Injured GWOT Soldiers Have Struggled 

to Resolve Military Debts. GAO-06-494. Washington, D.C.: April 27, 2006.

Military Pay: Inadequate Controls for Stopping Overpayments of Hostile 

Fire and Hardship Duty Pay to Over 200 Sick or Injured Army National 

Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers Assigned to Fort Bragg. GAO-06-384R. 

Washington, D.C.: April 27, 2006.

Military Pay: Military Debts Present Significant Hardships to Hundreds 

of Sick and Injured GWOT Soldiers. GAO-06-657T. Washington, D.C.: 

April 27, 2006.

Disability Benefits: Benefit Amounts for Military Personnel and Civilian 

Public Safety Officers Vary by Program Provisions and Individual 

Circumstances. GAO-06-4. Washington, D.C.: April 7, 2006.

Military Disability Evaluation: Ensuring Consistent and Timely 

Outcomes for Reserve and Active Duty Service Members. GAO-06-561T. 

Washington, D.C.: April 6, 2006.

VA and DOD Health Care: VA Has Policies and Outreach Efforts to 

Smooth Transition from DOD Health Care, but Sharing of Health 

Information Remains Limited. GAO-05-1052T. Washington, D.C.: 

September 28, 2005.

Defense Management: Assessment Should Be Done to Clarify Defense 

Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office Personnel and Funding Needs. 

GAO-05-756R. Washington, D.C.: August 25, 2005.

Military Personnel: DOD Needs to Improve the Transparency and 

Reassess the Reasonableness, Appropriateness, Affordability, and 

Sustainability of Its Military Compensation System. GAO-05-798. 

Washington, D.C.: July 19, 2005.

Military Personnel: DOD Needs Better Controls over Supplemental Life 

Insurance Solicitation Policies Involving Servicemembers. GAO-05-696. 

Washington, D.C.: June 29, 2005.
Related GAO Products

Page 42 GAO-06-1010 Casualty Assistance

Military Pay: Gaps in Pay and Benefits Create Financial Hardships for 

Injured Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers. GAO-05-125. 

Washington, D.C.: February 17, 2005.

Military Personnel: Survivor Benefits of Servicemembers and Federal, 

State, and City Government Employees. GAO-04-814. Washington, D.C.: 

July 15, 2004.

Military Personnel: Active Duty Benefits Reflect Changing 

Demographics, but Opportunities Exist to Improve. GAO-02-935. 

Washington, D.C.: September 18, 2002.

National Cemetery System: Plans for Addressing Projected Increases in 

Veterans’ Burials. GAO/HEHS-98-157. Washington, D.C.: April 29, 1998.

Arlington National Cemetery: Additional Information on Burial Waiver 

Decisions. GAO/HEHS-98-104R. Washington, D.C.: March 4, 1998.

(350772)
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