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Why we jump on mishap threads so quickly here on AW...
- Thread starter Schnugg
- Start date
Nothing public yet.
I just read an Esquire article that detailed the entire process of bring a body home, through the funeral. His mother and wife both found out through the rumor mill. Well intentioned person calling to offer condolences to the widow, who didn't yet know she was a widow.
Great article, BTW, though difficult to read. Long, but very moving.
Great article, BTW, though difficult to read. Long, but very moving.
Anyone know the origin of this term? Always struck me as an odd thing to call it.
You want to make absolutely sure that you have all the right info before you go knocking on some parents/wife/husband's door to tell them that their servicemember is deceased.
As someone who stands a Navy watch in the reserves, getting the full, correct and clear story is not as easy as it seems. You can often have too little or too much info to get a clear picture. CACO duties are one thing that you know you need to get right.
Hint for ASO's
Great thing to put in your pre-Mishap plan, BTW, especially for DET-type deployers. (And don't restore it until the XO/CO gets on the 1MC and reminds the crew of the potential fallout - the shoes may not realize the implications of a quick email home).
Great thing to put in your pre-Mishap plan, BTW, especially for DET-type deployers. (And don't restore it until the XO/CO gets on the 1MC and reminds the crew of the potential fallout - the shoes may not realize the implications of a quick email home).
The Navy has a great system in place to make the notifications in person, with all the needed support in place. Our response time is very good, but we can't beat e-mails and people sending information that they should be sitting on.
The largest time waster is usually the command where the casualty takes place. They are often very slow in getting the casualty reports out to the central office so CACOs can be assigned and get the process winding up. If you stand SDO, do yourself (and Navy family members) a favor and brush up on casualty reporting procedures. Make sure that all of the people who stand duty YN know how to send the message to the casualty office. Run a drill. Sure, it sucks. So does standing Casualty CDO here in Millington and having to sort through screwed up mesages that don't have the information that we need to support the family of a dead/damaged sailor.
The largest time waster is usually the command where the casualty takes place. They are often very slow in getting the casualty reports out to the central office so CACOs can be assigned and get the process winding up. If you stand SDO, do yourself (and Navy family members) a favor and brush up on casualty reporting procedures. Make sure that all of the people who stand duty YN know how to send the message to the casualty office. Run a drill. Sure, it sucks. So does standing Casualty CDO here in Millington and having to sort through screwed up mesages that don't have the information that we need to support the family of a dead/damaged sailor.
phrogpilot73
Well-Known Member
Ahhh, the night I proposed...
Maryland State Police took care of that notification.
Much easier to do on a boat than at homeguard. There's no switch to throw to shut off of external comms, especially with cell phones. Would take a very concerted effort by leadership to make sure no calls leave the squadron.
During one of my drills, I had one of our female pilots call the SDO pretending to be someone's wife...she begged for information for a few minutes before the SDO politely told her to call the PAO and hung up.
Unfortunately, it is very hard to educate the families of soldiers, mostly spouses or other inlaws who become good friends with potential widows, widowers, mothers and fathers. It is the biggest challenge, to tell your spouse, that no matter how much you want to call and consol, no matter how much you think you should be there with them in their time of need, you need to stay away until the wheels of CAO/CNO (CACO) have officially notified the family/NOK and done their job to regulation and circumstance. It is one of the toughest jobs, and one of the toughest nuts to crack in order to make sure it is done right.
What are the rules, if you don't mind me asking? In a homeguard situation, can you call home and say, "if you are watching the news, it wasn't me" or is even that off limits?
That even poses some problems. What if Bob calls his wife and says he's fine. Bob's wife hangs out w/ Joe's wife and they've talked after seeing there was a mishap on TV. Joe's wife hasn't heard from Joe yet, but Bob's wife has heard from Bob. 4 hours later, Joe comes home to find his wife on the ceiling freaking out because he didn't call.
Vill,
I'm not a member of the aviation community and have no idea what their standing orders are. So I cant speak to their rules.
Specific to my world:
Anyone passing information related to a combat or training loss is dealing in classified information. Like other controlled information it can become open. Notification of NOK is cause for it to be OK to communicate with family etc etc.
It is not open until the Skipper says so, no matter whats on TV or the net. PERIOD.
Someone's wife's worry is just that, a worry. It will be relieved in due time. At the moment the deceased's wife is the one who deserves the utmost of respect. Let her be notified as you would want your wife to be if you had been the unlucky.
No room for selfishness when it comes to this.
I'de be surprised if the Aviation community doesnt have a similar SOP.
I'm not a member of the aviation community and have no idea what their standing orders are. So I cant speak to their rules.
Specific to my world:
Anyone passing information related to a combat or training loss is dealing in classified information. Like other controlled information it can become open. Notification of NOK is cause for it to be OK to communicate with family etc etc.
It is not open until the Skipper says so, no matter whats on TV or the net. PERIOD.
Someone's wife's worry is just that, a worry. It will be relieved in due time. At the moment the deceased's wife is the one who deserves the utmost of respect. Let her be notified as you would want your wife to be if you had been the unlucky.
No room for selfishness when it comes to this.
I'de be surprised if the Aviation community doesnt have a similar SOP.