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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/04/27/1553854-cp.html
Military to review emotional policy
By JOHN COTTER
EDMONTON (CP) - Canada's military ombudsman will launch a review next month into how the Armed Forces looks after families of fallen and injured soldiers.
It's a followup to a report released in January 2005 that suggested the military was insensitive and unprofessional in its handling of a soldier's death 14 years ago during a training exercise in Alberta.
The review was not prompted by recent casualties in Afghanistan. But its findings - which could include comments from families who have lost loved ones there - will be timely, ombudsman spokesman Darren Gibb said Thursday.
"Our members have been significantly engaged on the international front in dangerous theatres of operations. This isn't only because of Afghanistan," Gibb said from Ottawa.
Since the training accident, in which the wife of a soldier was informed by phone that her husband had been run over by an armoured vehicle, the Department of National Defence has improved its training and protocol for dealing with families where soldiers die or are injured, he said.
There have been more changes since the report was made public last year.
The review will determine how well the military has acted on the ombudsman's recommendations. It will also look at training programs for officers who must break the news of a death to loved ones and whether families are getting enough grief counselling.
"Very generally we are pleased at the progress that has been made. Certainly there are areas that need work and that is what we are trying to quantify," Gibb said.
The ombudsman will also focus on how the military has responded to recommendations to hold automatic boards of inquiry into accidental deaths with full standing for families.
Details of the review are to be made public 28 days after it is handed to the Department of Defence.
Department spokesman John Knoll said the government has acted on some of the report's recommendations, including providing training for officers who deal with next of kin.
"Things have improved a bit," said Knoll. "I can tell you we have done that to some degree. We have some kinds of guidelines and training."
The protocol for informing military families about the loss of a loved one has evolved considerably over the years.
During the Second World War, telegrams were sometimes delivered to families by railway service agents. The very sight of an agent walking down the street would instill fear in the spouses and mothers of soldiers serving overseas.
In a recent letter to a newspaper, a man recalled watching his mother grab such a telegram from an agent just before he was to knock on the door and hide it in her apron so as not to upset her tea party guests. Only once they had left the house did she allow herself to face the grim news.
Now military officers have strict rules to follow, including a checklist, to best perform what has to be one of the most difficult jobs in the military.
"The death of a service member is one of the most sensitive personal-related events to a unit and its members," state military regulations.
"The responsibility of a casualty-assisting officer is enormous. They are required to devote their time and energy to the needs of the next of kin."
Officers handle and help arrange funeral arrangements, including selecting flowers and music and providing a Canadian flag to the family after the graveside service.
The officers must also provide information about financial benefits and entitlements, including medical and dental coverage.
They are also to help the surviving spouse apply to remain temporarily in their home if they live on a military base.
The ombudsman's office said it has not received any complaints from families who have had a relative killed or injured in Afghanistan.
Sheila Mansell, whose brother-in-law Myles Mansell was one of four soldiers killed by a bomb near Kandahar last week, has nothing but praise for the help the family has received.
It was she who opened the door of her Victoria home at 2:30 a.m. when a uniformed military officer and a chaplain rang the doorbell to break the news of Mansell's death.
Since then, officers have been helping them navigate through the most shattering and painful experience military families ever face.
"It was really comforting to have them here," she said, noting how the officers also stayed with his fiancee, who lives in a basement suite in the home, until the young woman's parents arrived.
"They have come out to the house several times. They have contacted Myles's fiancee every day to make sure she is doing all right. They have been really good."
Military to review emotional policy
By JOHN COTTER
EDMONTON (CP) - Canada's military ombudsman will launch a review next month into how the Armed Forces looks after families of fallen and injured soldiers.
It's a followup to a report released in January 2005 that suggested the military was insensitive and unprofessional in its handling of a soldier's death 14 years ago during a training exercise in Alberta.
The review was not prompted by recent casualties in Afghanistan. But its findings - which could include comments from families who have lost loved ones there - will be timely, ombudsman spokesman Darren Gibb said Thursday.
"Our members have been significantly engaged on the international front in dangerous theatres of operations. This isn't only because of Afghanistan," Gibb said from Ottawa.
Since the training accident, in which the wife of a soldier was informed by phone that her husband had been run over by an armoured vehicle, the Department of National Defence has improved its training and protocol for dealing with families where soldiers die or are injured, he said.
There have been more changes since the report was made public last year.
The review will determine how well the military has acted on the ombudsman's recommendations. It will also look at training programs for officers who must break the news of a death to loved ones and whether families are getting enough grief counselling.
"Very generally we are pleased at the progress that has been made. Certainly there are areas that need work and that is what we are trying to quantify," Gibb said.
The ombudsman will also focus on how the military has responded to recommendations to hold automatic boards of inquiry into accidental deaths with full standing for families.
Details of the review are to be made public 28 days after it is handed to the Department of Defence.
Department spokesman John Knoll said the government has acted on some of the report's recommendations, including providing training for officers who deal with next of kin.
"Things have improved a bit," said Knoll. "I can tell you we have done that to some degree. We have some kinds of guidelines and training."
The protocol for informing military families about the loss of a loved one has evolved considerably over the years.
During the Second World War, telegrams were sometimes delivered to families by railway service agents. The very sight of an agent walking down the street would instill fear in the spouses and mothers of soldiers serving overseas.
In a recent letter to a newspaper, a man recalled watching his mother grab such a telegram from an agent just before he was to knock on the door and hide it in her apron so as not to upset her tea party guests. Only once they had left the house did she allow herself to face the grim news.
Now military officers have strict rules to follow, including a checklist, to best perform what has to be one of the most difficult jobs in the military.
"The death of a service member is one of the most sensitive personal-related events to a unit and its members," state military regulations.
"The responsibility of a casualty-assisting officer is enormous. They are required to devote their time and energy to the needs of the next of kin."
Officers handle and help arrange funeral arrangements, including selecting flowers and music and providing a Canadian flag to the family after the graveside service.
The officers must also provide information about financial benefits and entitlements, including medical and dental coverage.
They are also to help the surviving spouse apply to remain temporarily in their home if they live on a military base.
The ombudsman's office said it has not received any complaints from families who have had a relative killed or injured in Afghanistan.
Sheila Mansell, whose brother-in-law Myles Mansell was one of four soldiers killed by a bomb near Kandahar last week, has nothing but praise for the help the family has received.
It was she who opened the door of her Victoria home at 2:30 a.m. when a uniformed military officer and a chaplain rang the doorbell to break the news of Mansell's death.
Since then, officers have been helping them navigate through the most shattering and painful experience military families ever face.
"It was really comforting to have them here," she said, noting how the officers also stayed with his fiancee, who lives in a basement suite in the home, until the young woman's parents arrived.
"They have come out to the house several times. They have contacted Myles's fiancee every day to make sure she is doing all right. They have been really good."
